Mexico will exploit natural gas to reduce its dependence on the US, according to a Sheinbaum plan

President Claudia Sheinbaum offered on Wednesday a plan to exploit the so-called unconventional natural gas by way of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”, a method that consists of injecting water, sand and chemical substances at excessive strain to break the rock formations the place the hydrocarbon is concentrated.

The method has been criticized by environmentalists for the danger of water use and contamination, though the Mexican authorities has mentioned that new, much less polluting applied sciences now exist.

The Sheinbaum administration defined that 75% of the gas that Mexico consumes for the era {of electrical} power is imported, primarily from the United States, so the nation lives in uncertainty over provide in the face of adjusting local weather circumstances and armed conflicts equivalent to that of Iran.

“In this world in which we live, Mexico must guarantee its sovereignty and a fundamental part is energy sovereignty,” Sheinbaum mentioned this Thursday in his standard morning press convention.

His authorities’s resolution breaks with the ban on this apply that his predecessor and co-religionist, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024), had promoted.

Mexico has in depth unconventional gas deposits, situated primarily in the north of the nation. State-owned Pemex mentioned Wednesday there’s a potential of 141 trillion cubic ft.

“There are new techniques, new technologies, that open up the possibility of water being recycled without using powerful chemicals,” he mentioned.

As indicated, his authorities convened a panel of consultants to assist make a resolution on this regard, whereas looking for to develop power era by way of renewable sources equivalent to photo voltaic.

© 2026 AFP