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Report: Fracking to Grow U.S. Water-Treatment Market Nine-Fold by 2020
The race to treat water used in shale-gas drilling could create a $9 billion industry.

By Jonathan Katz

May 1, 2012


»The need to treat wastewater from the hydraulic-fracturing process used in shale-gas drilling will contribute to nine-fold growth for the U.S. water-treatment industry by 2020, Lux Research said in a report Tuesday.

The U.S. water-treatment industry will grow 28% annually to $9 billion over the next eight years as the field develops new technologies to treat fracking wastewater, the technology research and advisory firm reported.

Despite the growth opportunities, only a few companies that demonstrate strong technical value and business execution are poised to profit from fracking water technologies, said Brent Giles, Lux Research Analyst and the lead author of the report, "Risk and Reward in the Frack Water Market."

A few companies that show the most promise in developing fracking wastewater technologies include Everett, Wash.-based WaterTectonics and GasFrac Energy Services Inc. based in Calgary, Alberta.

Both firms have partnered with major oil and gas companies to bring their technologies to market.

GasFrac is "poised to disrupt the industry" with a technology licensed from Chevron Corp. (IW 500/2), Lux Research said.

The company's technology removes water entirely from the process, utilizing high-pressure propane instead of water to fracture gas wells.
Chevron and Husky Energy Inc. are among a few companies testing the technology.