Overview
- A 54‑expert committee convened by the presidency recommended a conditional ‘yes’ to hydraulic fracturing, prompting the administration to accept a limited program with strict controls.
- The government forbids fracking in the Tampico‑Misantla basin and authorizes it only in identified basins in Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, with operations allowed subject to further review.
- Exploitation is explicitly conditioned on using saline water rather than freshwater to protect aquifers and local water supplies.
- The committee issued a provisional resource estimate of 141.5 billones de pies cúbicos but emphasized that many studies are still needed to convert those prospective resources into proven, economically viable reserves.
- Experts urged complementary policies — more renewables, better energy efficiency, higher conventional fuel output and reduced gas flaring — and warned that attracting private investment and completing environmental and technical studies will determine whether development proceeds and how local communities are affected.