Today we were joined by three outstanding guests to discuss one of the biggest long-term opportunities and challenges facing the Permian Basin: produced water. We were thrilled to welcome Adrianne Lopez, Research and Development Manager at Texas Pacific Water Resources, along with Dr. Scott Tinker, Chairman of Switch Energy Alliance and Director Emeritus of the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas, and Derek Tinker, Founder of Agnostic Data Group. We appreciated hearing each of their perspectives on why produced water has become one of the defining issues for the future of the Permian, the technologies making large-scale desalination increasingly feasible, and how produced water could become a valuable resource for agriculture, power generation, AI infrastructure, and beyond.

In our conversation, Scott explains the scale of the challenge, noting that the Permian now produces roughly 20 million barrels of water every day, with water-to-oil ratios continuing to increase across much of the basin. He outlines why disposing of that water through underground injection is becoming more difficult and more expensive, and argues that beneficial reuse represents one of the industry’s largest untapped opportunities. Adrianne walks us through the science behind produced water, explaining why it is significantly more difficult to treat than seawater. She details Texas Pacific’s work developing freeze desalination technology, the company’s new 10,000-barrel-per-day demonstration facility, and why reaching commercial scale, alongside continued regulatory progress, will be critical to improving the economics of produced water desalination.

We examine where this water could ultimately be used, from AI data centers and power generation to cotton production and land rehabilitation, and why collaboration between industry, regulators, and technology providers will be essential. We discuss the valuable minerals contained within produced water, including lithium, the role of AI and real-time monitoring in building public trust, and why transparent, independently verified water quality data are as essential as the treatment technology itself.

Scott argues that the industry already has many of the technologies needed to move forward. The remaining challenge, he suggests, is creating the economic incentives and regulatory certainty needed to scale solutions that can reduce disposal volumes while creating entirely new sources of water for Texas. As disposal costs continue to rise and desalination costs decline with scale, he believes operators have an opportunity to address a growing operational challenge while reinforcing the industry's long-term position in the Permian.

Mike Bradley opened the discussion by noting that market rotation has been the defining theme in recent trading. While Treasury yields moved modestly higher this week, investors are largely looking ahead to next week's CPI and PPI reports for potential market-moving data. Within equities, semiconductor stocks have pulled back sharply after leading the market for much of the year, while the Mag 7 have recently rebounded. In energy, the sector moved higher alongside a roughly $2/bbl increase in WTI crude to ~$70/bbl following renewed attacks on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Mike noted that oil markets appear to be pricing in a quick return to normal in the region, which may prove optimistic. He also highlighted that second-quarter earnings season begins in earnest during the week of July 20, with several oilfield services companies reporting results. U.S. natural gas prices strengthened on hotter summer weather, while European gas prices rose as below-normal inventories and geopolitical tensions supported the market. Mike concluded by highlighting the IEA's 3Q26 Gas Market Report, which projects global natural gas demand will decline 0.5% in 2026. Robby Kester also joined and added his technology perspective and questions throughout the conversation.

We will be staying close to this topic and hope you find the conversation as useful and informative as we did. Our best to you all!