Overview
- After the committee presented its preliminary findings on Thursday, President Claudia Sheinbaum said the government will adopt those recommendations as the route to evaluate gas from fracking without approving commercial projects.
- The 54‑member scientific panel singled out the Burgos and Sabinas‑Burro‑Picachos basins for further study and recommended formally excluding the densely populated Tampico‑Misantla basin for environmental and social reasons.
- Experts demanded that any pilot activity use only deep saline (non‑fresh) water, drill exploratory monitoring wells to confirm no connection to drinking aquifers, recycle most return water, publish additives used, and allow independent scientific oversight.
- The presidency tasked the Instituto Mexicano de Tecnología del Agua with hydrogeological and water analyses and pledged exploratory testing, regular public updates every two months or so, and prior informed consultations with local communities before any move toward production.
- Environmental groups reject the opening and demand a nationwide ban, lawmakers publicly backed the review, and officials stressed the committee’s resource estimates are geological prospects not proven recoverable reserves, meaning commercial viability and legal steps remain unresolved.