The Oilfield’s Second Act: What Geothermal and Lithium Brine Need From Pump Packages

The short answer: Enhanced geothermal and lithium brine production are both fluid-handling industries built on oilfield methods. Geothermal needs large volumes of water supply, transfer and filtration during drilling, stimulation and commissioning, plus equipment that can tolerate heat. Lithium brine operations pump highly saline, corrosive brine up from deep reservoirs and reinject it, which puts a premium on materials selection, seals, solids handling and serviceability. Oilfield pump fabricators already have most of the skills both industries need.

For a decade, the oilfield has been told it’s a sunset industry. Two milestones this year suggest a different story.

On September 30, 2026, Fervo Energy’s Cape Station in Utah began commercial operation, delivering 33 megawatts to the grid from its first enhanced geothermal block, with a second 400 MW phase under construction for 2028. Meanwhile, across the Smackover Formation in South Arkansas and East Texas, oil majors and lithium developers are drilling wells and building plants to pull lithium out of underground brine.

What these projects have in common is the oilfield. They use its drilling methods, its crews, its service companies and, above all, its expertise in moving fluids under pressure. That makes them worth understanding for anyone who builds, rents or runs pumping equipment.

How is geothermal using oil and gas technology?

Enhanced geothermal systems create heat reservoirs in hot rock that doesn’t naturally hold enough water to produce power. The approach borrows directly from shale development: horizontal wells drilled from multi-well pads, then stimulated so water can circulate through the rock and carry heat back to the surface.

Fervo built Cape Station with oilfield partners including Helmerich & Payne, Devon Energy and Liberty Energy. As of its 2024 update, fossil fuel workers accounted for more than 90% of on-site labor hours at the project. The oilfield isn’t being replaced by geothermal. It’s building it.

What does geothermal need from pump packages?

Most of the pumping demand on a geothermal project looks familiar to anyone who has supported a drilling and completion program:

• Water supply and transfer for drilling and stimulation, often in dry regions where water has to be moved long distances.

• Flowback and well-testing support, including fluid handling, separation and filtration as wells are tested and brought online.

• Construction and commissioning water, from dewatering excavations to flushing and pressure-testing surface piping and plant systems.

• Heat tolerance. Fluids returning from geothermal wells can be far hotter than typical oilfield water, so pumps, seals, hoses and gaskets must be rated for the actual temperatures involved.

• Scaling and solids. Geothermal fluids can carry dissolved minerals that precipitate as they cool, so filtration and easy cleanout matter.

What is the Smackover lithium opportunity?

The Smackover Formation is a limestone reservoir stretching from Texas across Louisiana, southern Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama into the Florida Panhandle. South Arkansas has produced bromine from Smackover brine for more than 60 years. Now developers are going after the lithium in that same brine.

The Smackover Lithium joint venture between Standard Lithium and Equinor completed federal permitting under the FAST-41 program in May for its South West Arkansas project, which is designed to produce 22,500 tonnes a year of battery-quality lithium carbonate, with first commercial production now targeted for 2029. In East Texas, the venture’s Franklin project has reported lithium grades up to 806 mg/L. ExxonMobil, with about 120,000 gross acres in Arkansas, is using conventional oil and gas drilling methods to reach lithium-rich brine about 10,000 feet below ground. And in Texas, EnergyX commissioned a 250-tonne-a-year demonstration plant processing Smackover brine in March 2026.

How does direct lithium extraction work, and why is it a pumping business?

Direct lithium extraction (DLE) replaces the giant evaporation ponds used in South America with a closed loop: brine is pumped up from production wells, lithium is selectively captured and purified at a surface plant, and the remaining brine is pumped back underground through injection wells.

That means a commercial DLE project is, at its core, a large and continuous fluid-handling operation. Brine has to be produced, transferred, filtered, processed and reinjected around the clock for the life of the project. Every step depends on pumps, piping, manifolds and filtration that can survive a punishing fluid.

What does lithium brine demand from pumping equipment?

• Corrosion resistance. Highly saline brine attacks carbon steel and standard components quickly. Specify wetted materials matched to the brine chemistry (for example, duplex stainless, coatings or non-metallics), plus compatible gaskets and hose.

• Seal reliability. Seal failures on continuous brine service mean leaks, downtime and cleanup. Specify seal designs and elastomers rated for the specific brine, temperature and any dissolved gases.

• Solids and scaling. Brine can carry fines and form scale as temperature and pressure change. Specify upstream filtration, strainers, and layouts that allow easy cleanout.

• Continuous duty. Production and reinjection run 24/7 for decades. Specify heavy-duty frames, redundancy where it counts and components that can be serviced quickly.

• Serviceability. Plants are often remote, and long parts lead times cost production. Specify standard, field-sourceable components and generous service access.

Every brine is different. Chemistry, temperature and dissolved gases vary from reservoir to reservoir, so the first step in any brine-service build is a full fluid analysis. Materials and seals should be chosen for the brine you have, not the brine in a brochure.

Where do oilfield pump fabricators fit?

Both industries are early in their build-out, which means much of the near-term pumping demand is temporary and project-based: water supply for drilling, transfer and filtration during completion and testing, dewatering and hydrostatic testing during plant construction, and pilot-scale brine handling. That’s the work oilfield fabricators and rental fleets do every day.

The skills transfer cleanly: sizing packages to real duty points, building skids that survive being moved, integrating filtration and manifolds, and supporting equipment in remote locations. What changes is the fluid. Hotter water and more aggressive brine raise the bar on materials, seals and temperature ratings. Fabricators who learn those requirements now will be well positioned as these projects move from pilot to full scale.

Frequently asked questions

What pumps are used in geothermal projects?

Geothermal projects use pumps for water supply and transfer during drilling and stimulation, flowback and well testing, construction dewatering and commissioning, and for circulating fluid in operating plants. Equipment must be rated for the high temperatures of geothermal fluids.

How is lithium extracted from brine in the Smackover Formation?

Smackover projects plan to use direct lithium extraction (DLE): brine is pumped from production wells, lithium is selectively captured and purified at a surface plant, and the remaining brine is reinjected underground.

Why is lithium brine hard on pumps?

Lithium brines are highly saline and can be corrosive, carry solids and form scale. Pumps in brine service need corrosion-resistant wetted materials, compatible seals and elastomers, good filtration and easy service access.

When will Smackover lithium production begin?

The Smackover Lithium joint venture targets first commercial production from its South West Arkansas project in 2029. Other developers, including ExxonMobil, are advancing their own projects, and EnergyX began operating a demonstration plant in Texas in 2026.

Do geothermal projects use oil and gas workers?

Yes. Fervo Energy reported in 2024 that fossil fuel workers accounted for more than 90% of on-site labor hours at its Cape Station geothermal project in Utah.

Supporting a geothermal or brine project?

Vortex Equipment Solutions designs custom pump packages, filtration systems and manifolds for demanding fluid-handling work, from water supply and transfer to brine service. Tell us about your fluid, your duty points and your site. Contact Vortex Equipment Solutions