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The evolution of petrolithium
Critical Raw Materials
26th January 2024

Petrolithium may have first been coined in 2016 by Jared Lazerson, CEO and founder of MGX Minerals, a lithium mining startup company that once promoted the chemical extraction of lithium in Alberta oilfield brines. The following year, Lazerson formed a company bearing the name (PetroLithium Corporation of America) to acquire mineral leases in US oilfields. The term has since been used to describe other companies, including E3 Lithium and Standard Lithium, which are similarly focused on extracting lithium from North American oilfield brines.

Discovery of petrolithium
Although the term and applications of petrolithium may have emerged more recently, the concept has been around for decades. The first and foremost publication on this topic was the iconic Geochemistry of Oilfield Waters (Gene Collins, 1975), which documented the presence of lithium in multiple oilfield reservoirs across nine US states.

Given Collins’ reporting and the anticipated future demand for lithium by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), companies like Dow Chemical took note. According to International Battery Metals (IBAT) founder John Burba, concurrent to Collins’ work, Dow was also looking at lithium in oilfield brines for the purpose of developing a lithium-based battery, which others were also seeking to develop.

The impact of Dow chemical
Given Dow’s chemical plants and research facilities located near key oilfields, the company was uniquely positioned to conduct brine research during the 70s. In one case, Dow operated a chemical production plant in Magnolia, Arkansas (later acquired by Albemarle Corporation), sourcing bromine from the Smackover Formation.

A petrolithium breakthrough
Although DLE has yet to reach commercialisation in a petrolithium capacity, several companies have successfully tested DLE pilot plants utilising oilfield brines containing economic quantities of lithium, including the previously mentioned E3 Lithium (Alberta) and Standard Lithium (Arkansas). Startups such as Anson (Utah), and Prairie Lithium (Saskatchewan) are also testing the petrolithium potential of certain oilfields.

Even Burba’s IBAT made a petrolithium comeback after testing the same oilfield brine he had tested 40 years ago for the first DLE pilot plant. During a brief partnership with Galvanic Energy, IBAT tested the Smackover Formation in southern Arkansas and again proved DLE has the potential to extract lithium from oilfield brines, but this time with favourable economics due to the historic rise of lithium prices.

https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/the-evolution-of-petrolithium/41335/