By Mike Lee
April 27th, 2026
The two biggest oil-producing states are at a crossroads as they try to solve one of the industry’s thorniest problems — getting rid of billions of gallons of salty, oily wastewater that’s produced alongside crude.
Academic researchers in Texas and New Mexico say technology developed in recent years allows companies to clean up the waste, known as produced water, so it can be released into surface water like rivers or diverted for uses such as crop irrigation.
But state regulators are still cautious about the idea.
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