Production activity in America’s oil and gas sector, concentrated in Texas, fell in the third quarter, according to data released in September by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. This marked the second quarter in a row of contraction. The US oil rig count fell to its lowest point in nearly four years in August, according to data from Baker Hughes.
“We continue to believe that, at current oil prices, US shale oil production has likely peaked and activity levels in the Lower 48 will remain depressed,” CEO Kaes Van’t Hof wrote.
Texas, long the booming center of US energy production, generates more power annually than any other state in the country, and its demand is only climbing.
Produced water — the water byproduct that comes up from a well along with the extracted hydrocarbons generated by oil and gas assets — can be used for the immense cooling demands of a data center. Gas that might have been “flared,” or burned off, illuminating the night sky throughout the basin, can be redirected to new customers who need power.