During the morning press conference on April 9th, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that she is consulting with a group of Mexican experts and scientists who will review technical and environmental options to determine if there is an extraction method with less environmental impact. The goal is to determine if the country can develop unconventional gas using technologies other than traditional fracking, thereby strengthening energy sovereignty. She believes Mexico cannot limit itself to importing fuel without exploring other production alternatives, and the final decision will depend on the technical evaluation by this group of specialists starting next year.
In addition to the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM), and the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), the Mexican Institute of Water Technology, the Mexican Petroleum Institute, the Autonomous University of Nuevo León, and other academic institutions are participating in the interdisciplinary group. The goal is to increase natural gas production from 2.3 billion cubic feet per day to 8.31 billion cubic feet per day by 2035, representing a 261 percent increase.
In this context, PEMEX will be the company responsible for attempting to reduce the country’s dependence on imported natural gas for 75 percent of its national consumption, primarily from Texas, just a few kilometers from our border. This means that there is significant gas reserves on our side of the border. The three areas where fracking could be used are the Sabinas Burro Picachos and Burgos basins, located in Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas, and the Tampico-Misantia basin in Veracruz, San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo, and Puebla.
PEMEX lacks the necessary technology and resources for gas extraction and would rely on private companies, primarily from Texas, thus failing to achieve the promised energy sovereignty.
Furthermore, it goes against campaign promises. It has been immediately pointed out that former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador questioned hydraulic fracturing projects due to their environmental risks and even unsuccessfully attempted to prohibit it in the Constitution.
In a statement from 70 organizations, led by the Mexican Alliance Against Fracking, which has 13 years of activism, it was indicated that in the United States, attempts have been made to treat wastewater for reuse in the same wells, which has only doubled the cost of fracking development. Ultimately, they returned to using freshwater. The statement asserted that sustainable fracking is impossible due to high energy costs; moreover, it uses a large amount of energy, even more than what is extracted, and generates numerous leaks of methane gas, which is 86 times more potent in contributing to global warming than carbon dioxide in its first 20 years.
It pointed out that fracking a single well requires between nine and 29 million liters of water and that the rate of drilling in the United States consumes annually a volume equivalent to the domestic needs of millions of families. Furthermore, it has been noted that increased seismic activity in Oklahoma is an additional contributing factor.
Reviewing the reactions of columnists critical of the so-called Fourth Transformation (4T), one observes an almost jubilant acceptance of the fracking proposal; they celebrate and promote the involvement of private US companies and assert that it can boost national self-sufficiency and industrial competitiveness. The business sector speaks of mixed contracts and affirms that the announced opening will only make sense if it translates into effective participation from the private sector, which contributes not only financing, but also technology, operational experience, geological knowledge, risk management, and international best practices in environmental matters and water use.
This issue has decidedly unfavorable implications. Manuel Perez Rocha (La Jornada, April 20th, 2026) already pointed out that, within the framework of the FTA, companies in this sector have ongoing lawsuits against Canada, and these will likely increase; I am referring to the market and competition that the Mexican initiative would open up. Indigenous communities in San Luis Potosí have already begun reacting against fracking. They went with others to the Chamber of Deputies and are planning legal action.
The President stated that an evaluation will be conducted regarding possible consultations with communities regarding the exploitation of unconventional gas. However, she acknowledged that there are technologies available abroad that will likely have to be used to implement this technique in Mexico. PEMEX would operate the fields, and large, specialized companies, not from Mexico, would contribute the technology with significant investment schemes.
“We must look again at unconventional gas with a focus on sovereignty and minimizing environmental impacts. I don’t say zero environmental impact, because there is no such thing as zero”, says the spokesperson for the grand megaproject. You’d better believe it.
Original article by Magdelena Gómez, La Jornada, April 21st, 2026.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.