Following the controversy that arose mid-year over fracking, the first round of mixed contracts that the government plans to launch in December will exclude fields using this extraction technique. A high-level oil sector executive, speaking to LPO, confirmed that the contracts currently do not include fracking, however, they noted that the topic is still under analysis by energy authorities. To date, the government has sent mixed signals on this matter. The executive explained that while they would be interested in fracking contracts, it would be under two conditions: that it be done under licenses and not as part of these mixed contracts, and that they be given the largest exploration areas. Despite authorities making modifications to the contracts to make them more attractive, for oil workers the problem remains the same: the central role they assign to Pemex. For the government, it is already a challenge to finalize the 11 mixed contracts announced in Claudia Sheinbaum's first government report. The strategic plan for Pemex included the analysis of projects for the exploration of 'complex geology,' but in public discourse, Energy Secretary Luz Elena González and Pemex Director Víctor Rodríguez have ruled out the use of fracking. Various sources in the sector consulted agree that the doors of the National Palace are not entirely closed to this extraction method, as the government's goal is to reduce the high dependence on natural gas consumption from the United States. Oil workers dismiss interest in fracking with Pemex. But there is a problem: convincing the market. As this editorial reported, oil workers anticipate that only a handful will manage to sign contracts by December and that the participants will be small companies. Despite authorities making modifications to the contracts to make them more attractive, for oil workers the problem remains the same: the central role they assign to Pemex, giving a smaller profit margin to private companies, added to the uncertainty of payment from the oil company.
