Palisade Pipeline Offers an Economical & Sustainable Alternative to Ground Water
About Palisade Pipeline
Palisade Pipeline is a water pipeline developer focused on providing large scale sustainable water solutions for oil and gas operators in the Permian Basin. Palisade seeks to offer environmentally conscious, reliable solutions to address industry demand for innovative sources of alternative water supply. Palisade has a strategic development partnership with Macquarie Capital.
Palisade’s first project is a high capacity pipeline capable of delivering up to approximately 190,000 barrels per day of reclaimed water to New Mexico. The project enables daily sourcing of non-potable, municipal effluent water to areas where ground water is scarce. Palisade has a 25-plus year effluent water supply agreement with the City of Lubbock, ensuring long-term, sustainable access to water and enabling the preservation of an estimated 70 million barrels of New Mexico groundwater per year, or 1.75 billion barrels over the life of the project.
Reagan Kneese, EVP of Operations (Left), Phillip Laughlin, Founder and President (center) and Lori Laughlin, Co-Founder (right) at the Office of The Governor in New Mexico.
Q: Tell us about Palisade Pipeline and how your focus on conservation of water differs from that of other companies.
A: Palisade wants to connect stakeholders across the spectrum that are focused on tackling long-term water security issues. Focusing on municipal reuse from a premier facility like Lubbock’s wastewater plant provides our customers with access to a long-term, reliable and high-quality water source. Palisade’s effluent water has been treated to a discharge standard that is already being used in agriculture and other community uses, such as the irrigation of parks and golf courses. There are increasing amounts of state and federally led initiatives focused on water reuse, with the goal of providing broader and increased uses for the resource, and Palisade is there to provide immediate solutions that move us along that path.
Q: You are finalizing the engineering plan for your water project in Lubbock, which will support the oil and gas industry in Texas and New Mexico. Can you tell us more about it and the economic impact it will have on the region?
A: Specific to the City of Lubbock, our greatest contribution will be revenue generated through the water sales to Palisade. Historically, the recycled effluent water from the city was a cost burden. However, our project will swing the pendulum in the opposite direction by turning the reclaimed water into a revenue generator.
More broadly, we envision being active partners with other municipalities, enabling them to meet their economic and development goals in addition to addressing their sustainable needs for the resource. Palisade has positioned itself to deploy multiple parallel workstreams to serve the needs of both the oil and gas industry and other various stakeholders, which is something we are excited to continue advancing.
Q: The City of Lubbock built a leading premier high-quality water recycling plant. How will you be making the most of your 25 year plus agreement with the City of Lubbock to assist them with their excess discharge of effluent water?
A: You’re absolutely right that the City of Lubbock had already invested significant capital in its wastewater treatment plant which has created an ideal source from which to transport and sell the water to high demand areas. This is a huge benefit, as wastewater treatment facilities are very complex and expensive to construct and maintain, especially when you need to create a very high-quality water spec on a consistent basis as the Lubbock plant does.
Additionally, Lubbock has constructed a 12-million-barrel reservoir from which the reclaimed water is stored before it will be pumped through our pipeline system. It is the combination of these existing assets and our pipeline system that we believe will create a high-value, unique opportunity to access up to nearly 190,000 barrels per day of water. Lastly, Palisade has also partnered with a right-of-way provider that has an uninterrupted easement of nearly 170 miles, which will allow us to link a high-capacity water pipeline with the most active regions of the Permian Basin.
Q: Your recycling of municipal water is setting new standards in environmental, social and governance (ESG) and offers sustainability from a business perspective as well as being economically viable for end users. Tell us how Palisade is uniquely positioned to continue this momentum and provide a cost-effective solution.
A: Our water is 100% recycled municipal water. Our agreement with the City of Lubbock provides a response to the EPA’s Water Reuse Action Plan in February 2020 for increased and broader application of municipal wastewater. This project is not only sustainable from an environmental perspective but also from a business perspective. Our strategic partners, including the City of Lubbock, the RoW partner, and Macquarie Capital, position us to offer operators with an economic alternative to ground water while enabling them to operate in confidence, for decades, with real bottom line savings.
Q: One of your co-founders is a woman, which I loved learning. I know that Palisade is supportive of diversity and the value different people bring. How has promoting diversity created a successful culture within your company?
A: Palisade directly embraces and promotes the value of diversity across its operations. We believe that diverse viewpoints provide more robust perspectives on strategy and execution and ultimately lead to more sound decisions. Palisade continues to push and seeks to be at the forefront of these initiatives for the industry, especially now as a diverse team is better equipped to meet the challenges of rapidly changing market conditions.
To learn more about Palisade Pipeline, please visit: https://www.palisadepipeline.com/
If you are seeking career opportunities in this field, or are a hiring manager in need of talent, please contact Michelle Dutemple at [email protected], or complete our contact form, and a consultant will be in touch to learn more about your needs.
