Iofina PLC (AIM:IOF, OTC:IOFNF) shares strengthened on Friday, after it announced an agreement with Western Midstream Partners to develop the company’s next IOsorb plant in the Permian Basin.
The plant will use Iofina’s WET IOsorb technology with produced water supplied by Western Midstream.
The company said the facility will be built, funded and operated by Iofina and is designed to handle about 50,000 barrels of brine water per day, which is twice the capacity of existing plants.
Iofina expects the project to cost between $8-9 million and target annual output of 170,000 to 220 metric tonnes of crystalline iodine.
“We are delighted to be partnering with Western Midstream, given their respected expertise in produced water handling and recycling solutions," said chief executive Tom Becker.
He added, “The ability to double the brine water capacity to 50,000 barrels per day will be a step-change for Iofina and will help accelerate our crystalline iodide production growth strategy.”
Western Midstream will supply up to 50,000 barrels per day of produced water in exchange for a royalty fee on production. After extraction, water will be returned for disposal, transport or recycling.
Western Midstream chief executive Oscar K. Brown described the agreement as “a critical step forward in sustainably addressing the challenges within the basin,” noting the company currently handles more than 2.7 million barrels of water per day.
Groundwork is expected to begin by the end of 2025, with commissioning targeted for the second half of 2026.
In London, Iofina shares climbed 7.8% changing hands at 23.45p.