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First modification: 04/10/2026 - 05:15 Last modification: 04/10/2026 - 17:51

The Government of Claudia Sheinbaum is committed to reactivating hydraulic fracturing with new, less polluting technologies to exploit unconventional gas, in a change from the previous policy and with the aim of achieving energy sovereignty.

The leftist president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, has decided to reopen the door to 'fracking', in a movement that marks a strategic shift in the country's energy policy, which seeks levels of sovereignty in this matter that allow it to move further and further away from recurring purchases from external clients.

The federal Administration announced a plan to exploit unconventional natural gas through hydraulic fracturing, a technique that has been widely questioned by environmental organizations. However, the Executive insists that its implementation will be different from the traditional one, incorporating technological advances to mitigate its environmental impact.

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Energy turn in search of sovereignty

The change responds to a central concern: currently, about 75% of the gas that Mexico consumes for electricity generation comes from external suppliers, mainly from the United States.

This dependency has exposed Mexico to risks derived from extreme climate phenomena and international geopolitical tensions, such as the conflict in Iran, but in general, it is part of the leftist president's strategy to seek the country's sovereignty, in all sectors.

“Mexico must guarantee its sovereignty and a fundamental part of it is energy sovereignty,” said Sheinbaum during his morning conference on Thursday, April 9, underlining the need to strengthen domestic production.

The decision also breaks with the policy promoted by his predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who had promoted the ban on 'fracking' in line with environmentalist and left-wing positions.

'Fracking' yes, but not like before

The Government has insisted that the new approach will not replicate traditional hydraulic fracturing practices, which involve injecting large volumes of fresh water, sand and chemicals under high pressure to release hydrocarbons trapped in rock formations.

And instead, the Mexican president explained that the country will opt for cleaner technologies that allow the water already used to be recycled and reduce the use of aggressive chemicals, she even spoke about the possibility of using salt water or "reused water from mines" so as not to waste the drinking water resource.

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For all these changes, Sheinbaum proposed the convening of a panel of experts that will evaluate the best practices available internationally.

"There are new techniques, new technologies that open up the possibility of water being recycled, of not using these powerful chemicals that are difficult to recycle," the president explained in her morning speech.

Despite these guarantees, environmental organizations maintain their reserves, pointing out persistent risks such as contamination of aquifers and the impact on local ecosystems.

Energy potential in the north of the country

And the Government's interest is based on the significant potential of unconventional resources that they have under their soil, which have not been exploited to their maximum level.

The state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) estimates that Mexico has reserves of up to 141 trillion cubic feet of unconventional gas, concentrated mainly in northern regions.

It is a volume that could transform the national energy panorama in the medium term, although its exploitation will require investments, infrastructure and time, all under a plan that complicates the extraction - environment relationship, which the Mexican president does not want to bankrupt.

With information from AFP and Reuters.

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