B3 Insight has announced the Oilfield Water Stewardship Council (OWSC), a new ESG-focused membership program for water management in oil and gas. The OWSC is comprised of industry leaders and is committed to advancing water stewardship in the oil and gas industry.

The first program of its kind, the OWSC includes founding members from EagleClaw Midstream, Pioneer Natural Resources, Solaris Water Midstream, Breakwater Energy Partners, PearlSnap Midstream, Goodnight Midstream and H2O Midstream.

B3 CEO and co-founder Kelly Bennett said, "This program is a commitment by B3 and its members to put words to action through collaboration and transparency to create meaningful solutions."

Water management continues to grow in importance within the oil field as well as outside of it. Permian Basin water management has increased dramatically since the introduction of horizontal drilling, from 235 million barrels of water injected in December 2010 to 669 million barrels in August 2019. Recent years have also seen increased investor and social pressure to advance sustainability in the water management industry, a market valued at $41 billion.

"Pioneer actively works to be both part of the discussion and part of the solution when it comes to water usage in the oil and gas industry," said Mark Berg, executive vice president of corporate operations at Pioneer Natural Resources. "We employ a comprehensive, full-cycle water management strategy, and we seek to carry out innovative and forward-thinking measures for improving water stewardship. We look forward to participating in the Oilfield Water Stewardship Council alongside peers with the same goals." 

Standardized metrics, reporting and frameworks are key to unlocking the value of sustainable water management investments. The current lack of this standardization and reporting inconsistency leaves many stakeholders without a means to compare management practices and leverage quantitative data to benchmark performance. This poses a major roadblock for companies striving to advance their ESG strategies and define responsible operating practices.

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