Western Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE: WES) announced the start-up of a second produced-water treatment pilot facility in Reeves County, Texas, in a joint project with Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Devon Energy, and ExxonMobil.

The facility, located near Red Bluff Reservoir, is designed to receive 2,000 barrels per day of produced water and produce approximately 1,000 barrels per day of reclaimed freshwater — about ten times the output of the first pilot facility, known as JIP 1.

JIP 1 was launched in 2023 as a small-scale West Texas pilot site. Over a 24-month period, technical teams collected more than 50,000 water quality data points to evaluate treatment technologies for producing water suitable for industrial cooling, irrigation, and surface discharge.

The new facility, JIP 2, will serve as a demonstration site for continued operational optimization and validation of reclaimed freshwater production across a range of end-use applications. Data gathered from JIP 2 is intended to inform the development of commercial-scale desalination facilities.

"The start-up of JIP 2 marks a pivotal milestone in our journey to transform a produced-water stream from a disposal challenge into a valuable resource for the Permian Basin and beyond," said Oscar K. Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer of WES.

Western Midstream states it currently handles approximately 3.0 million barrels per day of produced water across its existing operations. The company said it plans to continue working with regulators, local communities, and independent experts to validate the treatment process and confirm water quality outcomes.