What the Rancher Knows That You Don't

From the very beginning, we formed our company as an agriculture company and not as an energy company, even though some may see us merely as by-product water cleaners. We identified ourselves as ag because we knew that the end result of our efforts would be to serve the ag community by providing water for the land and animals. But the important ag component to the solution came from the fact that we think like a farmer and rancher.

Here’s what we mean.

The farmers and ranchers have to work hard and scrape by to earn a living. It’s a long tradition. Their great (x 5 or 6 times great) grandfathers were probably raising crops and animals just to feed their own families. 

Now, many farms and ranches are massive and technology turns out to be better at predicting a good crop than grandpa’s arthritic knee. But, the good news is that the ag industry still carries that same mentality of how you conduct an ag business:

You don’t throw anything away.

Put it in economic terms, the process of production will always result in by-product items that can be monetized. If you raise a chicken, you’re primarily after the eggs or the dark and white meat. But secondarily, you can sell the beaks, the feet, the feathers, and even what the chicken drops all over your land. That’s because you have thin margins and you have to find a way to get every penny out of that chicken that you can. 

So, if farmers or ranchers ran the oil companies, they would have NEVER thought about the water coming from the well as being something to ignore and pay millions of dollars to dispose of. Instead, a rancher would have inherently figured out that the wells are sitting next to ag land and then would have figured out a way to make it beneficial-use water.

But, the oil industry, even with its boom or bust mentality, is still a high margin business with plenty of cash. There is no oil executive (who make the decisions) sitting behind the tinted windows in their skyscraper who is watching the weekly reports to find out if he can buy groceries this week. He or she might be trying to manage their stock portfolio, but not their existence. 

You see, you think of other option when you are desperate. Necessity being the mother of invention, as we know. 

So, let’s combine our worlds. The oil industry needs to embrace a new, better (but not more expensive) way to deal with the billions of gallons of water that is simply thrown away each year. So, let’s change. Together, we can.

Meanwhile, we’re going to go have our chicken feet snack.

Change a Name. Change the Future

With apologies to the Bard who said, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” -- it’s just not true. Maybe it’s true for the conflicting families of Romeo and Juliet, but not for the often conflicting Oil Industry and Ag Industry. What we call a thing is important because the name reflects the identity.

What does this have to do with produced water from oil wells? Everything.

A little while ago, we bumped into a major oil company lobbyist who hated, really hated, our idea of turning oil well by-product water into beneficial-use for ag and other applications, instead of injection or disposal. He said disposing of water is how it’s been done for 35 years and if we tried it, he’d take us all the way to the Supreme Court. He said they may lose, but we’d be broke. We hope he doesn’t also handle Public Relations for them. 

Now, yes, we’ve been disposing of water for 35 years. That started in 1983 and we’ve all made some changes since then, right? Why not change what we do with the water from an oil well?

We just politely walked away from that lobbyist because maybe he had a bad day (or forgot his medication) and we knew that we have the future and it’s all about what we call this water.

It’s not really ‘produced water.’ The oil company didn’t invest millions of dollars to have gunky water come out of the ground. No, they are working to get oil out of the ground and keep our country moving and safe from foreign trade wars on oil. It’s a good thing. But this water is simply ‘by-product water.’ It’s the unintended consequence of drilling for oil. 

This by-product water with a simple change of name and intention can become beneficial-use water. It can benefit the next frac, stop soil erosion, water crops, and keep herds thriving. And, it can be done inside the same economic model of how much it costs an oil company to dispose of that water with ponds or injection. It will only take the oil industry deciding to improve how things are done.

So, what’s in a name? Everything. Produced/by-product water can change its name and character by becoming beneficial-use. Then, the water is not a headache, but provides health to the land and all the thing that grow on it.

Change a name. Change the future.  #BeneficialUseWater

Hello. My Name is Produced Water and I’m a …

Produced water is often treated like that cousin you have who is an alcoholic. He’s part of your family, but you don’t really want to talk about him.

And, even when he gets sober, you still don’t trust him.

Well, produced water is kind of everybody’s cousin, if you live where the E&Ps work. And no matter what is said, you just don’t trust produced water. 

But BUWA has a twelve-step program of sorts for you. Okay, we’re kind of kidding, but not completely:

1. We admit that we have to do something about produced water.

2. We know we need to count on something higher than ourselves to do it (hint: it’s not the government or the E&P’s)

3. We have to engage with someone like BUWA to pull the pieces and technology together.

4. We have to do a searching inventory of where we live, the DNA of our soil, the DNA of the water, proximity to rigs, and who owns all the pieces of land, rights, and machinery.

5. BUWA can facilitate testing the soil and intersect the results with your beneficial-use needs.  

6. Then, we’ll bring all the parties together to have a party—one where everybody ends up better than they were.

7.Then, our cousin, produced water flows out, approximately 3 barrels for every 1 barrel of oil.

8. The water is cleaned with proprietary technology and the beneficial-use process begins.

9. The water is tested to make sure it’s cleaned to match the needs from step 5.

10. The water is now no longer produced water. It’s sobered up. It’s now called beneficial-use water.

11. The beneficial-use water is put on crops or drunk by cows (see how we work in the drinking analogy?). And with beneficial-water put to those uses, the pressure is relieved from the municipalities.

12. The Landowners win. The E&P’s win. The Ranchers and Farmers win. The municipalities win. The government wins.

But first you have to admit you have a problem with produced water. Give us a call. We’ll turn your cousin, produced water, around.

Will We See You in Riverton Next Week?

The Beneficial-Use Water Alliance is exhibiting, sponsoring, and presenting at the Wyoming Stock Growers Association in Riverton next week.

Whether you are a rancher or a landowner or just want to talk about increasing revenue and increasing your water to use for ag or livestock, visit our booth or give us a call, 818.470.0285.

Taking It for Granted

By the time you’re reading this today, you have more than likely mindlessly used a few gallons of water. You took a shower (at least we hope so), you brushed your teeth, you brewed some coffee, you drank some water, you boiled some food, you then froze it for your iced tea, and probably did a few more things.

At any of those times when you turned the faucet, did you think, “I wonder if there will be water?” No, you didn’t. And if no water came out of the tap, your first thought would probably be, “I paid the bill, right?”

We take water for granted and that’s okay to do. We have many other things to think about. However, because we take it for granted doesn’t make it any less vital. 

As people that have an opinion or two on what happens to ourselves and our family, we do need to think about water a bit more than we do. 

The Beneficial-Use Water Alliance is working with farmers, ranchers, government, and E&Ps to stop evaporating water or injecting it into the ground. We can actually USE that produced water for crops or herds. 

Here's where your faucet comes in: If we’re using cleaned produced water for those things, then the municipalities won’t feel the pressure to make sure your tap has water. But it’s going to take some intentionality on our part.

If the stakeholders that are involved in owning land, drilling for oil, raising cattle, or growing crops can come together and put the already established systems in place, then we can put our water to good use.

And then, we can go back to mindlessly turning on the tap. Because we don’t want to discover one day that we took water for granted for too long. 

Where Do They Stand?

The Beneficial-Use Water Alliance is sitting down with the Wyoming gubernatorial and legislative candidates. We want to know – like you want to know – where do the candidates stand on the issue of taking energy industry produced water and putting it to beneficial use.

Even if you’re not in Wyoming, it’s critical that we know if our elected officials are content to keep throwing water away.

Another way of asking it, are the candidates ready to cut the red tape and let the market economy put the 71.4 billion gallons of yearly produced water (that’s just in Wyoming) to better use for crops and herds? We’re ready. The systems are there. It’s economically feasible. But we need leadership that understands beneficial-use water, has a pair of scissors, and will cut the red tape.

Now, there’s many issues in this election. The Alliance sees that the important ones like jobs, the economy, and taxes are all related to water. Here’s what we mean.

Oftentimes, we limit ourselves by seeing things in boxes. The economy – which means do I have the money to pay my bills – is in a box. Taxes is in another box. Will there be a job for me or my graduating children is in another box. But those boxes are all related.

Putting the produced water to beneficial use brings direct revenue to the state, so taxes don’t have to increase. If the water is being used for ag or herds, then that takes the pressure off the municipalitiesand the cost of your hot shower each morning won’t go up. There’s a productivity increase in farms and ranches, which creates more jobsand brings more money in to pay the billsfor everyone. 

One thing is related to the other. And it all starts with just the first drop (and the next billion gallons) of water being put to beneficial use.

We want to know where the candidates stand. But here’s a question for you: Where do you stand?

It’s All in Your Head

It’s not easy to get us to think about something differently, even if the status quo is less than ideal.

We’re talking about water. We need water to drink, yes. But we also need water for food – whether on the crops or in the trough.

We know and often read how the price of oil drives up prices at the pump, which drives up trucking costs, which means that we pay more for a grocery cart of food. The price of my loaf of bread depends on how much oil comes out of the ground.

Likewise, water has the same chain reaction. An agriculturalist looks and sees that the land he has available to him is good for this crop or that crop. He bases that on his soil, futures for a commodity, and....water.  What if we changed one variable, water?

With an increase in available water, his land can perhaps grow a different, more valuable crop. A rancher can increase his herds or perhaps raise a different stock that will bring a better market price. If you own the land and lease it out, then land with water can be double the price of land without water. 

We know this is true, but where do you get more water? 

Well, sitting on farms and ranches across the land are oil rigs producing on average 3 barrels of produced water for every 1 barrel of oil. Right now, we essentially throw that water away through evaporation or injection, although a slight percentage is re-used for fracking. 

Now, we’ve all talked about this and other “what if” scenarios before. But the pin that pops the “what if” balloon is very often the economics. Sure, more water is great, but the piping or truck costs are too much. Sure, it’d be good to take the produced water from the well and use it for livestock or crops, but the economic model breaks the bank for an E&P.

Until now. 

At the Beneficial-Use Water Alliance, we are working to create this solution and there is a model where everyone wins and no one, least of all the E&Ps, are left holding the bag. Too good to be true? Well, it’s true. 

There isn’t one size fits all model for every plot of acreage. However, BUWA is committed to working with you to maximize the stake you have in that acreage, whether it’s where your rig is located or you own the land or you have crops or livestock growing there.  And it works economically for all concerned.

But what stops us? Well, the problem is all in our heads. 

That is, we keep holding onto the status quo, even if it isn’t working well. 

Let’s talk. Thinking differently is good.

Here's Our Official Launch Press Release! The Future is Now!

‘Beneficial-Use Water Alliance’ Announces Launch

New “Matchmaker” Endeavor to Create More Beneficial-Use Water

The Beneficial-Use Water Alliances announces its formation as a resource to facilitate creation of beneficial-use water from the energy community’s by-product water.

Oil and natural gas wells produce water, which can’t be used for anything when it originally comes from the well. Typical methods to handle the water is to dispose of it by injecting into the ground or by letting it evaporate in large ponds, with some being re-purposed for fracking. The Beneficial-Use Water Alliance (BUWA) has been formed to help bring all the stakeholders together in order to take the water and put it to good use.

The solution BUWA insists, is not new technology, but rather, a new methodology.

The heart of BUWA is that, unlike initiatives of the past, there are not good guys and bad guys wrestling for profits, but rather diverse groups with different interests and goals that can come together for a common goal.

“Look, no matter what side of the political aisle you sit, we can all see that the E&P’s keep this country independent of foreign oil, which strengthens all of us. The landowners, farmers, and ranchers are the unsung heroes, toiling to feed this entire nation. Most states struggle with providing costly services without raising taxes. BUWA is simply saying, let’s put the people together to take something we’re already throwing away and turn it into beneficial-use. This protects a vital natural resource. This is good for everyone,” says Jeff Holder, executive director of BUWA.

BUWA’s vision is to connect landowners, farmers and ranchers, the E&P’s who bear the responsibility of disposing of the produced water, and the individual states who often own significant amounts of land where oil rigs, crops, and livestock sit side by side.

“There’s usually a ‘gotcha’ when it comes to a new program or system of doing things. Often it costs more money for industries already with thin margins. However, the only ‘gotcha’ in turning throw-away water to beneficial-use water is that we must change our minds about it. If done correctly, it won’t cost anyone more money and for some, it will actually be an increase in revenue. But we have to do a hard thing – think about the problem of produced water differently. And then take action. That’s what BUWA is all about,” notes Holder.

It's Starting!

On March 3rd, Governor Matt Mead signed into law a bill which says that natural flare gas that is used to treat produced water is exempt from taxation. The Alliance commends the men and women who worked hard to make this happen. 

This good first step is one of many that we will take together to change our minds about produced water and how we can make it beneficial use. 

Left to Right is Marvin Nash, General Manager of Encore Green; Darlene Nash, Owner of Encore Green; Representative Stan Blake; Representative James Byrd.  Seated, Governor Matt Mead. House Bill 172, sponsored by Rep. James Byrd, Rep. Stan Blake, Rep. Debbie Bovee, and Rep. Marti Halverson.

Good job!