Select Water Solutions and LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners Announce Definitive Agreement to Build Out Commercial Lithium Carbonate Production Units in Texas; First 1,000-Tonne Facility Slated for Commissioning by December 2026
- Planned three-stage deployment of commercial lithium carbonate production facilities funded, designed, constructed, and operated by LibertyStream. The initial facility will have a nameplate capacity of 1,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year.
- The facilities will utilize Select’s water treatment expertise and existing pipeline infrastructure to source, transport, manage, and pre-treat produced water streams essential to the extraction process. In return, Select will receive a royalty on lithium carbonate production.
- The first commercial lithium carbonate facility will be developed at Select’s operating site in Howard County, north of Midland, Texas, establishing the anchor installation for the companies’ broader Midland Basin rollout.
GAINESVILLE, Texas and DALLAS, Feb. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Select Water Solutions Inc. (“Select”, NYSE: WTTR) and LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners Inc. (“LibertyStream”, TSXV: LIB| OTCQB: VLTLF | FSE: I2D) are pleased to announce that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement to deploy commercial lithium carbonate production facilities (“Carbonate Facilities”) at Select’s water treatment and recycling sites (“Select Facilities” or “Select Facility“) in the Midland Basin, Texas. The agreement outlines a three-stage development program for these Carbonate Facilities, with the initial phase (“Stage 1 Carbonate Facility“) scheduled for commissioning by the end of December 2026. The Stage 1 Carbonate Facility will have a production capacity of up to 1,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year for sale to U.S. customers and will be located at an existing Select Facility in Howard County, Texas.
Select’s Chairman of the Board, President and CEO John Schmitz commented,
This project leverages Select’s market leading infrastructure network while unlocking the resource value inherent in the large volumes of produced water that move through it each day.
” By integrating lithium extraction into our existing water platform, we are creating meaningful incremental value from assets already in place. This is precisely the type of multiuse infrastructure initiative that supports our long-term growth strategy and enhances the durability of our profitability.”
Alex Wylie, President & CEO of LibertyStream, said:
We have made tremendous progress scaling our lithium extraction and carbonate refining processes in the Permian Basin over the past 18 months,
“We have been preparing for commercial production throughout the past year, and we are excited to partner with Select—an organization with the experience, infrastructure, and operational reach needed to unlock the vast lithium resource contained in Permian Basin oilfield brines.”
Select and LibertyStream Agreement
Site preparation for the Stage 1 Carbonate Facility is scheduled to begin in March 2026, with full site construction commencing in the latter half of the second quarter of 2026. Upon commissioning in December 2026, the Stage 1 Carbonate Facility will be capable of producing up to 1,000 tonnes per annum of battery grade lithium carbonate from the Select Facility in Howard County, Texas.
As part of Stage 2, LibertyStream will commission a second Carbonate Facility on or before June 2027, designed to process up to 1,000 tonnes of battery grade lithium carbonate per annum. As part of Stage 3, beginning in July 2027, LibertyStream will commission at least two additional Carbonate Facilities at existing Select Facilities across Howard, Martin, Midland, Upton, and Glasscock Counties, Texas.
Select’s water recycling and pre–treatment capabilities will play a critical role in LibertyStream’s lithium extraction process. By removing a major pre–treatment step required for direct lithium extraction, Select’s systems reduce both capital and operating costs across LibertyStream’s Carbonate Facilities.
This project reflects Select’s strategy to unlock new value streams from its existing water infrastructure—transforming oil and gas waste streams into shareholder value and enhancing returns on invested capital. By increasing the utility of its pipeline network, disposal wells, treatment systems, and monitoring infrastructure, Select is advancing its broader capital strategy: maximizing returns from its asset base by layering on incremental, high margin revenue streams supported by fixed offtake and pricing agreements.
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Select Water Solutions and LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners Announce Definitive Agreement to Build Out Commercial Lithium Carbonate Production Units in Texas; First 1,000-Tonne Facility Slated for Commissioning by December 2026, source
