Antero Resources Corp. signed an agreement with Veolia Water Technologies Inc. and Veolia North America to design and build a wastewater treatment complex in West Virginia, the company said Aug.19.

The complex in Doddridge County includes 60,000 barrel per day facility that will treat and reuse flowback and produced water rather than permanently dispose of the water in injection wells.

Antero will own the treatment assets, including any ancillary facilities. The complex will serve Antero's development in both the Marcellus and Utica shales.

The wastewater treatment facility will use Veolia's proprietary AnoxKaldnes MBBR biological treatment and its CoLD Process advanced evaporation and crystallization technology to treat completion flowback, produced water and other water byproducts.

Freshwater will be produced and the treated water will be delivered back into Antero's freshwater distribution system and reused. Salt and other brine products will also be produced, the company said.

Optimized resource management company Veolia will build the complex under a turnkey contract and will operate it under a 10-year agreement. The treatment facility is scheduled to be in service by year-end 2017, pending regulatory permits and construction.

The capital investment is estimated at $275 million. This includes site preparation and construction, byproducts processing equipment and five miles of water pipeline from the facility to the freshwater water distribution system.

On July 9, Antero Midstream Partners LP notified the parent company of its intent to purchase the water business. Currently, transaction negotiations between the companies are ongoing, Antero said.

If Antero Midstream buys the water business, it will enter a 20- year water services agreement for all operations areas in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. The advanced wastewater treatment complex will be included in this transaction, the company added.

Antero Resources Corp. is based in Denver.