medellin colombia – On Wednesday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced plans to begin hydraulic fracturing to more than double the country’s natural gas production and “strengthen national sovereignty.”
Despite having 141 billion cubic feet of unconventional gas reserves, Mexico extracts little natural gas and instead imports more than 70% of its natural gas from the United States, making it the world’s largest buyer of American gas.
Sheinbaum’s announcement marks a reversal of her party’s traditional opposition to hydraulic fracturing for its harmful effects on the environment.
Hydraulic fracturing, or hydraulic fracturing, is a method of extracting oil and natural gas by forcing water, sand, and chemicals into the ground to destroy deep rock and allow the oil and gas to flow to the surface.
Fracking has long been controversial because of its environmental impacts, including earthquakes, air and water pollution, massive water consumption, and increased greenhouse gas emissions.
But Sheinbaum, an energy and climate change scientist by profession, defended plans to start hydraulic fracturing at a news conference Thursday, arguing that it offers a sustainable alternative to traditional hydraulic fracturing methods because it has “new technologies that open up the possibility of water recycling without using harsh chemicals that are difficult to recycle.” She emphasized that she has been “opposed to traditional hydraulic fracturing” her entire life.
Sheinbaum said the technical committee will spend two months evaluating the feasibility of these new fracturing technologies.
The president’s announcement marks a departure from the historic rhetoric of his political party, Morena. Sheinbaum’s predecessor and Morena’s founder, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, had previously attempted to impose a constitutional ban on the practice.
The announcement will likely prove unpopular even among those who considered Sheinbaum’s previous stance on fracking when voting for him. According to El País, in February, a spokesperson for the Mexican Alliance Against Fracking described the potential switch to hydraulic fracturing as “a betrayal of the people who voted for President Sheinbaum, who said hydraulic fracturing would not be done” and suggested that the president was “listening to the industry and only hydraulic fracturing advocates.”
The spokesperson also highlighted the risks hydraulic fracturing could pose to indigenous communities, “destroying social fabric and posing risks to women”.
Sheinbaum recognizes that natural gas import contracts with the U.S. remain in effect, but the priority is to ensure Mexico’s energy stability and reduce dependence on foreign powers in the event of shortages due to situations such as the current war in the Middle East.
Featured image caption: Claudia Sheinbaum in 2020
Featured Image Credit: Maritza Ríos via Wikimedia Commons
