Mexico's President Proposes 'Sustainable' Fracking

More than 80 organizations, including the Mexican Alliance against 'fracking', pointed out to President Claudia Sheinbaum that exploring a 'sustainable' version of hydraulic fracturing technique for gas extraction 'may sound promising in speech, but in reality, it does not exist'. Sheinbaum defended opening up to the use of unconventional gas extraction technologies through 'fracking', despite having spoken out against it previously, and assured that it is a way to 'strengthen' the country's energy sovereignty with 'low environmental impact' techniques. In a statement, the NGOs indicated that the president proposing the possibility of such exploitation and announcing the formation of a scientific committee to evaluate its viability 'is a political turn that contradicts the Sheinbaum government's commitment to not allowing the exploitation of hydrocarbons through fracking in the country'. They pointed out that the scientific evidence demonstrating the risks and harmful effects of 'fracking' development has been compiled by independent scientists and from the United States for 15 years, who have rigorously organized over 2,300 scientific studies. What do specialists say about 'friendly fracking'? The specialists mentioned the possibility of using treated wastewater, connate water produced by oil fields in advanced stages of exploitation, and even seawater, but this use of water has been tested in different areas of the United States and has not become a common practice due to its high costs, ranging from 5 to 10 million dollars per installation. They also stated that 'energy sovereignty will not be achieved through the extraction of Mexico's diminishing gas reserves'. 'Friendly fracking' is President Claudia Sheinbaum's proposal to extract natural gas without harming the environment and thus end Mexico's dependence on imported gas from the United States. 'The main environmental problem of fracking is that it uses a lot of water and gets contaminated with chemicals that are difficult to clean. Even if we could extract all the gas in our subsoil, it would be insufficient to supply the growing demand for fossil gas'. Sheinbaum differentiated these new techniques from traditional 'fracking', discarding the latter due to its 'severe environmental impacts', amidst criticism from environmental organizations over the government's willingness to incorporate this technique to extract natural gas. In this sense, she acknowledged that she had always spoken out against traditional 'fracking', although she emphasized that with the use of new technologies there is a 'lower environmental impact', thus justifying this change of stance compared to the six-year term of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The Government of Mexico announced that it will begin to approve 'fracking' to reduce dependence on imported gas, particularly from the United States, and to move towards energy sovereignty in the next decade. 'There are new technologies that use biodegradable components', she explained in her 'morning' conference. These components are used to break rocks and allow water to be recycled and it is even possible that it is saline water or water from coal mines. 'That is what we want the experts to tell us: what impacts it would have, where it could be done and where it could not'.