Natura, NGL collaboration on water treatment

Under the terms of the agreement, Natura and NGL subsidiary NGL Water Solutions Permian LLC will collaborate in seeking opportunities to combine Natura's 100 MW molten salt reactor (MSR) with NGL's produced water treatment and desalination expertise. The collaboration will utilise NGL's expected Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit to provide a flexible, economic solution for power generation and create a new water source for Texas.

The combined system will have potential application for treating produced water from oil and gas operations on an industrial scale and will generate power and clean water for potential beneficial use in data centres, agriculture, and as a new water source for other industries. The collaboration will also support NGL's development of critical mineral extraction from its produced water. Produced water is water that is produced as a byproduct of oil and gas extraction, and is typically salty or brackish as well as containing hydrocarbon residues.

NGL transports, treats, recycles and disposes of more than 3 million barrels per day of produced and flowback water generated from crude oil and natural gas production in the Permian Basin, the highest-producing oil field in the USA. This sedimentary basin is located in western Texas and far-southeastern New Mexico.

"The Permian Basin alone produces more than 20 million barrels of produced water daily," Natura noted. "The ability to economically treat large volumes of produced water and enable its beneficial use, particularly for other industrial applications like data centres, will create a scalable alternative to address serious concerns associated with produced water disposal by injection, thereby sustaining the longevity of oil and gas development in the region."

"Texas is facing a serious, long-term challenge of ensuring that there is enough energy and clean water to sustain the current economy and support growing demands for power and water," said Doug Robison, Founder and CEO of Natura Resources. "Our molten salt reactor combined with thermal desalination can provide a sustainable, competitive solution by generating clean, economic power; treating industrial water for beneficial use; and freeing up natural gas supplies for higher value applications. Collaborating with NGL allows us to advance the application of our breakthrough nuclear technology where it can make a measurable difference for industry, communities, and the environment."

"By working with Natura, we are evaluating how advanced molten-salt nuclear technology can provide a continuous energy source to support large-scale produced water treatment and transform produced water into a strategic asset that supports energy security, water resilience, and future critical mineral supply chains," said Doug White, Executive Vice President of NGL Water Solutions Permian LLC.

Natura Resources entered into a memorandum of understanding with Texas Tech University and Abilene Christian University in February 2025 to evaluate integrating Natura's MSR technology with water desalination systems. The goal of this collaboration, which includes the Texas Produced Water Consortium (TxPWC) at Texas Tech, "is to provide a sustainable solution for water scarcity by purifying produced water from oil and gas operations, making it available for agricultural and other beneficial uses", Natura said. Natura announced in July 2024 that it had joined the consortium to evaluate the deployment of its technology to meet energy and water needs in the Permian Basin in a partnership dubbed Fortifying the Future. TxPWC was established by the Texas legislature in 2021 to focus on the potential for beneficial uses of treated produced water outside the oil and gas industry of the Permian basin.

In September 2024, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a licence to Abilene Christian University for the construction of a molten salt research reactor on its campus in Abilene, Texas, marking the first construction permit for a liquid-fueled advanced reactor and only the second for any advanced reactor issued by the NRC. The university's molten salt research reactor (MSRR) will be the first deployment of the Natura MSR-1, a 1 MWt, graphite-moderated, fluoride salt flowing fluid (fuel dissolved in the salt) research reactor. The MSRR will be used for on-campus nuclear research and training opportunities for faculty, staff and students in advanced nuclear technologies. The reactor - which is expected to be deployed later this year - will significantly expand the university's salt reactor research and development infrastructure, supporting US molten salt reactor design, development, deployment and market penetration.​​

Natura expects to deploy its first 100-MW commercial-scale reactor - the MSR-100 - in 2029.