Fracking
approved for Petroleos Mexicanos
Mexico’s national
oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos received approval to use hydraulic fracturing
for up to eight exploratory wells to tap into the country’s natural gas
reserves, raising the question of whether further use of the drilling practice
is on the horizon.
The government’s
announcement comes after months of assurances by newly elected President Andres
Manuel Lopez Obrador that Mexico would increase its production of domestic
natural gas but without relying on hydraulic fracturing, a common practice north
of the border.
And while the
exploratory wells don’t necessarily commit the country to fracking, weaning
Mexico off imported natural gas has been understood by
some in the energy field to mean reliance on nontraditional drilling practices.
The wells will be drilled in four blocks—up to two wells per block—in northwest
Veracruz, according to the plans published Feb. 11 by Mexico’s National
Hydrocarbons Commission. The commission, a federal agency that regulates fossil
fuel exploration and production, has estimated that Mexico has 545 billion cubic
feet of natural gas reserves, enough to supply the country for the next 120
years.
Plans for an $8-billion refinery at Paraiso, Tabasco, on the Gulf Coast rely on
a lighter grade of oil than the heavy crudes that Mexico currently produces.
This new source of light crude will most likely come from hydraulic fracturing,