Thanks to booming US oil production, pipeline operators may be in the best position to expand into the water-handling business. (Bloomberg) — For companies that haul oil and natural gas, the next big thing may be dirty water, according to Jefferies Group LLC. As booming U.S. oil production unleashes a torrent of contaminated water that rises to the surface with crude, pipeline operators may be in the best position to harness those flows and expand into the water-handling business, said Peter Bowden, Jefferies’ global head of energy investment banking. In the Permian Basin alone, the combination of saltwater from wells and water used in the fracking process is expected to be three times larger than crude output by 2023, according to Jefferies. Pipeline owners already are adept at transporting oil and gas, so adding water to their portfolios may be a logical next step, Bowden said Friday at an […]