Select Water Solutions and LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners are launching commercial lithium carbonate production in the heart of the Permian Basin, marking a major step toward turning oilfield wastewater into a domestic battery supply stream.
The two companies announced a definitive agreement to deploy lithium carbonate production facilities at Select’s water treatment and recycling sites in the Midland Basin, Texas. The three-stage development plan will kick off with a facility in Howard County capable of producing up to 1,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate per year for U.S. customers. Commissioning is targeted for December 2026.
The first plant—known as the Stage 1 Carbonate Facility—will be built at an existing Select site, leveraging infrastructure already in place. Site preparation is slated to begin in March 2026, with full construction launching later in the second quarter.
Select Chairman, President and CEO John Schmitz framed the project as a strategic evolution of the company’s core assets.
"This project leverages Select's market leading infrastructure network while unlocking the resource value inherent in the large volumes of produced water that move through it each day. By integrating lithium extraction into our existing water platform, we are creating meaningful incremental value from assets already in place. This is precisely the type of multiuse infrastructure initiative that supports our long-term growth strategy and enhances the durability of our profitability."
LibertyStream President & CEO Alex Wylie said the partnership comes after significant technical progress in the basin.
"We have made tremendous progress scaling our lithium extraction and carbonate refining processes in the Permian Basin over the past 18 months. We have been preparing for commercial production throughout the past year, and we are excited to partner with Select—an organization with the experience, infrastructure, and operational reach needed to unlock the vast lithium resource contained in Permian Basin oilfield brines."
Under Stage 2, LibertyStream plans to commission a second 1,000-tonne-per-year facility by June 2027. Stage 3, beginning in July 2027, calls for at least two additional plants at Select sites across Howard, Martin, Midland, Upton, and Glasscock counties.
At the core of the partnership is Select’s water recycling and pre-treatment infrastructure. By eliminating a major pre-treatment step typically required for direct lithium extraction, Select’s systems are expected to significantly reduce capital and operating costs across the carbonate facilities.
The strategy aligns with Select’s broader push to extract new value from its existing pipeline network, disposal wells, treatment systems, and monitoring infrastructure—transforming oilfield waste streams into high-margin revenue tied to fixed offtake and pricing agreements.
If executed as planned, the project positions both companies at the forefront of domestic lithium production—using the byproducts of U.S. oil and gas operations to help power the country’s battery supply chain.
_IndianOil.jpg)
_IndianOil_256_275.jpg)
