在德克萨斯州西部和新墨西哥州南部石油资源丰富的二叠纪盆地，水既是催化剂又是拐杖，既是盟友又是敌人，既是资产也是负债。正是水使生产商能够压裂该地区的高潜力油井，并获得大量石油流回井口。正是由于水的存在，整个流域的产量从疫情爆发前的约 470 万桶/日攀升至 2022 年 11 月的超过 540 万桶/日，创下了该地区的新纪录。

然而，随着石油从每口油井流出，还会产生产出水。很多。

In the oil-rich Permian Basin of west Texas and southern New Mexico, water serves as catalyst and crutch, ally and enemy, asset and liability. It’s water that allows producers to fracture high-potential wells in the region and get robust volumes of oil to flow back to the wellhead. It’s water that has allowed basinwide production to climb from pre-pandemic levels of around 4.7 million to over 5.4 million B/D in November 2022—a new record for the region.

However, along with the oil that flows out of each well comes produced water. A lot of it.