Mexico presents plans to exploit natural gas reserves through fracking

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum presented plans Wednesday to exploit Mexico’s natural gas reserves through fracking, a controversial practice with serious environmental consequences aimed at reducing dependence on US energy.

Sheinbaum has led an initiative to exploit Mexico’s vast natural gas reserves through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a technique with a long record of serious environmental and health hazards.

She said at her morning briefing that her administration began to consider fracking as a means to lessen dependence on US gas.

“The first is energy sovereignty. We consume unconventional gas; Mexico consumes unconventional gas. It is just 100 meters (3,937 feet) from the border, except that it is in Texas. Seventy-five percent of the gas Mexico consumes is unconventional gas, only it is exploited in the United States,” she said.

Mexico has recorded three consecutive years of rising natural gas imports from the United States. In 2025, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that Mexico imported an average of 6.638 billion cubic feet per day, a historic figure.

EIA data showed Mexico consumes around 8.6 billion cubic feet per day, meaning the US supplies 76% of Mexico’s natural gas requirements.

Although Sheinbaum touts strong ties and a good relationship with the administration of President Donald Trump, during her news conference she emphasized that exploiting Mexico’s natural gas resources is in the national interest.

“But we must look after our country’s energy sovereignty, just as the United States looks after its own energy sovereignty,” she said.

Fracking involves drilling a well until reaching the gas reservoir; to tap into it, a mixture of water, sand and chemicals is injected at high pressure, forcing hydrocarbons to flow out of the rock’s pores.

Sheinbaum said that there is currently “enormous innovation” in the technique, which avoids polluting chemicals through the use of biodegradable substances and water recycling.

“That makes us see that we must once again look at unconventional gas through the lens of sovereignty and with a focus on minimizing environmental impacts as much as possible,” she said.

Fracturing a single well requires between 9 and 29 million liters of water, according to the Mexican Alliance Against Fracking. Mexico is planning annual exploitation of 9,000 new wells, which would represent a volume of water equivalent to the domestic consumption of between 1.8 and 7.2 million people in one year.

In addition, the practice has been linked to serious consequences, such as water depletion and contamination.

The Mexican Alliance Against Fracking reports that at least 25% of substances used in drilling mixtures can cause cancer and mutations, 37% can affect the endocrine system, 40% can trigger allergies and 50% can damage the nervous system. People living near wells have a 66% probability of developing cancer associated with air pollution.

“We will not do anything against the population, never,” promised Sheinbaum.

She also promised to consult communities where gas exploitation is planned.

“I myself said ‘no’ to fracking for many years, but when I see new technologies and the country’s situation in terms of dependence, the worst thing we can say is simply no,” she added.