Mexico will not allow hydraulic fracturing in the Tampico-Misantla basin, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Thursday, ruling out the politically sensitive practice in a resource-rich shale formation that lies beneath the densely populated eastern states of Veracruz and Tamaulipas.
The decision followed an expert panel’s analysis of whether Mexico should pursue fracking to reduce its heavy reliance on U.S. natural gas imports. Mexico currently imports more than 6.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day, roughly 75 percent of its daily demand, through pipelines from U.S. shale deposits across the border.
Sheinbaum cited the basin’s location under areas with high concentrations of indigenous communities and ample fresh water reserves as key factors in the decision. The panel recommended increasing conventional gas extraction instead, though it cautioned that conventional methods alone would not significantly dent the need for American supply.
“With all the measures being proposed, we would go from 75 percent to 50 percent dependence on U.S. gas,” Sheinbaum said at her daily press conference. “And if we want to reduce that 50 percent figure, we need to consider unconventional gas extraction in a responsible manner.”
The fracking commission will continue evaluating where hydraulic fracturing could be used elsewhere in the country, and recommended that Mexico only pursue the practice in basins containing salt water rather than fresh groundwater. Mexico has an estimated 141.5 trillion cubic feet of unconventional shale reserves, mostly located in the northern part of the country.
Before taking office in 2024, Sheinbaum had been an outspoken critic of fracking, citing its environmental and social impacts. She has since softened her stance as Mexico seeks to wean itself off U.S. gas and rescue state-owned oil company Pemex from massive debts and slumping production. The company’s output has fallen to its lowest levels in decades.
The decision puts Mexico in a difficult position as it weighs energy sovereignty against environmental protection. With U.S. gas imports rising steadily, officials acknowledge that only a combination of conventional drilling, renewable energy expansion and selective unconventional development can meaningfully reduce dependence on a single foreign supplier.
Sources: EnergyNow, Mexico Business News
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