On 22 October 2025, Texas-based Select Water Solutions (“Select”) announced the groundbreaking produced water lithium extraction facility in the city of Joaquin. The commercial-scale facility will be designed, built, and financed by Houston-based Mariana Minerals.
The project will tap into Select’s produced water infrastructure network to mine an estimated 3,000 metric tons per year of battery-grade lithium salts from oilfield produced water—viewed as an untapped opportunity with significant cost, demand, and logistics hurdles—by 2027 H1.
Select is the largest midstream water company in the U.S., with US$1.45 billion revenue in 2024. The company owns and operates over 1,000 miles of pipeline and a dozen treatment and recycling facilities. In 2024, Select handled roughly 1.5 billion barrels (63 billion gallons) of water and treated more than 20.2 million barrels (850 million gallons). Mariana Minerals is backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Energy, and Khosla Ventures and has raised US$85 million Series A funding.
