Program to Focus on Three Core Areas: Water Recycle and Reuse Capabilities; Commitment to Community; Governance and Oversight
WaterBridge Continues to Lead the Emergence and Evolution of the Water Midstream Industry
HOUSTON, March 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — WaterBridge Holdings LLC (together with its subsidiaries, “WaterBridge”) today highlighted its ongoing commitment to advancing environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) initiatives. In addition to noting its environmental accomplishments for 2019, WaterBridge has also launched its formal ESG program for 2020.
“WaterBridge is committed to working toward a sustainable future and operating in a responsible manner in all aspects of our business,” said Stephen Johnson, CEO and Director of WaterBridge. Mr. Johnson continued, “Environmental awareness, natural resource management and maintaining a broader sustainability agenda are integral to our business, our employees and the environment. We will continue to take decisive action in line with these priorities.”
David Capobianco, CEO of Five Point Energy and Chairman of the Board of WaterBridge, commented, “When founding the company four years ago, we sought to progressively evolve the water midstream industry. While our integrated water pipeline network is currently a model for the responsible handling of produced water, we are always innovating. We look forward to ushering in the next stage of water midstream, with a focus on further reducing CO2 emissions and significantly increasing the recycle and reuse of produced water.”
For decades, water management in the oilfield has relied on the dangerous and environmentally hazardous process of truck hauling for the disposal of produced water. WaterBridge’s progressive and integrated pipeline network currently operates more than 1,140 miles of large diameter pipelines with a produced water handling capacity of nearly two million barrels per day. In turn, WaterBridge’s network offers a safer and environmentally friendly alternative that is more cost-effective than trucking, allowing customers to significantly reduce their carbon footprint while increasing operational reliability.
Based on recorded volumes of produced water passing through its pipeline network, WaterBridge estimates it reduced over 95,000 metric tons of carbon emissions during 2019 alone. This reduction in carbon emissions represents the elimination of approximately 52 million truck miles from the road, or nearly 120,000 round-trip commercial flights from Houston to New York. In addition to reducing carbon emissions, WaterBridge’s pipeline network is a shining industry example of commitment to safety, with a total recordable incident rate well below the industry average.
“Our successful reduction of carbon emissions in 2019 provides an excellent platform for the development and implementation of a robust ESG program,” said Steve Jones, Co-President and CFO of WaterBridge. “Our program will reinforce WaterBridge’s continued leadership in the areas of ESG to the benefit of our environment, our customers and our community.”
Launch of 2020 ESG Program
In advancing its commitment to social and environmental responsibility, WaterBridge has formally launched its 2020 ESG program. A newly formed ESG Committee, comprised of senior members of the company, will oversee the program and will work closely with leading external consultants to ensure that the program achieves its full scope of objectives. The ESG Committee is responsible for the development, implementation and monitoring of WaterBridge’s ESG initiatives, with a focus on delivering solutions that address important industry issues.
These issues broadly include:
- Expanding water management initiatives to provide producers with sustainable alternatives for their operations;
- Prioritizing the safety of our employees and the well-being of the residents within the communities in which we operate; and
- Creating and maintaining clearly defined policies with effective oversight to ensure WaterBridge operates under the highest level of ethical scrutiny.
WaterBridge’s 2020 ESG program is guided by and builds upon our achievements in three key areas:
1. Water Recycle and Reuse Capabilities
WaterBridge’s integrated pipeline and header network enables the company to distribute produced water for reuse in customers’ well completion activities, reducing the quantity of fresh water required for development. To aid in that distribution, WaterBridge constructed the first commercial produced water recycling pond in the Southern Delaware Basin in August 2019. This recycling facility provides storage capacity for up to one million barrels of produced water, allowing for regional multi-well pad development. Additional recycling facilities were permitted in late 2019 with another in the permitting process for 2020, further supporting WaterBridge’s commitment to recycle and reuse.
2. Commitment to Community
WaterBridge prioritizes developing local resources and investing in neighboring communities. In 2019, WaterBridge and its employees donated to local schools, youth organizations, fire departments and community centers in its areas of operation. As a part of its 2020 ESG initiatives, WaterBridge has committed to plant over 10,000 native trees in the Holdenville Lake Watershed. The planting of these native trees will provide stream enhancement and bank stabilization, greatly improving the water quality for Holdenville Lake, which supplies 95% of the drinking water for Hughes County, Oklahoma. Moreover, the project will foster community engagement with local schools through education on the importance of water quality and sustainability initiatives. WaterBridge will continue to support similar initiatives across the company’s operating regions.
3. Effective Governance and Oversight
WaterBridge is committed to maintaining a diverse workforce, including our senior management team and board of directors, who represent a range of backgrounds, perspectives, skills and expertise. WaterBridge’s board of directors will be actively involved in overseeing the ESG Committee’s efforts to set forth and then execute ongoing corporate responsibility initiatives.
About Five Point Energy LLC
Five Point Energy is a leading private equity firm focused on the midstream energy sector. The firm was founded by industry veterans who have had successful careers investing in, building and running midstream companies. Five Point’s strategy is to acquire and develop in-basin assets, provide value-added growth capital, and build world-class midstream companies with premier management teams and industry-leading E&P partners. The firm is focused on providing in-basin crude oil, natural gas, liquids and water management midstream solutions to E&P companies in the Permian Basin, Eagle Ford, Mid-Continent and Rockies. Based in Houston, Texas, Five Point Energy manages approximately $3.5 billion of capital across multiple investment funds. For further information, please visit www.fivepointenergy.com.
About WaterBridge
WaterBridge is the largest pure play produced water midstream company in the industry and a portfolio company of Five Point Energy. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, WaterBridge operates in the Southern Delaware Basin in west Texas and the Arkoma Basin in southeast Oklahoma. WaterBridge develops, owns and operates permanent, integrated water infrastructure networks that handle full-cycle produced water requirements of its blue-chip customer base under long-term, fee-based contracts. WaterBridge benefits from a first-mover advantage in the emerging water midstream sector with the most experienced management team in the industry. For further information, please visit www.h2obridge.com.
