Free Webinar Series for Professional Development Sponsored by SPE Water Life Cycle and Strategy Technical Section
Webinar: Potential for Recovery of Critical Minerals and other Elements of Interest from Oilfield Produced Waters
Date: September 11th, 2025 at 9 am CT
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Abstract
Produced water from oil and gas operations, typically high in total dissolved solids, has been considered waste. Interest is increasing in recovering critical minerals, rare earth elements, and other valuable elements essential for medicine, computing, and energy technologies supporting a circular economy. Over 400 produced water samples were collected from wells and tank batteries in nine U.S. oil- and gas-producing states, to assess this opportunity. Each was analyzed for more than 60 elements. This presentation will report basin-specific concentrations, evaluate economic recovery potential, and compare findings against commodity prices and U.S. demand for these strategic materials.
Moderator
Jinxuan Hu has served as the Vice President of Engineered Water Solutions at Select Water Solutions since February 2020. In this role, he focuses on service line technical integration, new technology and innovation, service quality, and optimization. Mr. Hu specializes in developing technologies and technical services for produced water management. He has numerous publications and presentations in peer-reviewed journals and conferences and holds several patents in produced water management. Mr. Hu earned his B.S. from Liaoning Technical University, his M.E. from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Speaker
Dr. Kyle E. Murray is the Principal Scientist at Murray GeoConsulting, LLC, based in Denver, Colorado, USA. He holds a Ph.D. in Geological Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and has been actively engaged in geoscience research and consulting since 1995. Dr. Murray's overarching goal is to identify and evaluate produced water as a potential source for the sustainable recovery of critical minerals and valuable elements. Dr. Murray has conducted geochemical assessments in major basins across the United States and is increasingly engaged with international clients to provide resource characterization and technoeconomic evaluations.
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