In mid-August, protesters gathered outside the government palace in Mexico’s northern state of Nuevo Leon to oppose a controversial method of natural gas extraction that President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration was considering: hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking.
“Here in the northeast, we do not want this to happen,” said environmental activist Alejandra Guillen.
Guillen is a member of Noreste sin Fracking, a network formed after a presidential panel of experts recommended evaluating potential fracking sites in the northern states of Nuevo Leon, Coahuila and Tamaulipas.
The proposal is part of a government effort to boost domestic natural gas production and reduce dependence on imports from the US, which supplies about 75% of the gas Mexico consumes.
“As part of energy sovereignty, to avoid depending more and more on foreign supply, we have publicly opened up the possibility of using unconventional gas in certain areas of the country, where social justice and a minimal environmental impact are guaranteed,” Sheinbaum said at an Aug. 6 news conference.
But residents and environmental activists question whether fracking can be carried out with minimal environmental damage, warning that it could threaten water supplies and cause lasting harm to local ecosystems.
Experts also question its economic viability, citing high production costs and the potential reliance on major foreign corporations, primarily from the US, to carry out the operations.
Fracking involves injecting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals deep underground at high pressure to fracture rock formations and release trapped oil and natural gas.
Luca Ferrari, a researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), warned that chemicals used in the process could contaminate the air, surface water and underground aquifers.
“It is not a technological miracle,” Ferrari said. “It is an act of desperation because oil is running out.”
The presidential panel, convened in April, recommended banning fracking in the Tampico-Misantla Basin along Mexico’s Gulf Coast to protect biodiversity and densely populated communities following widespread local opposition.
However, it left open the possibility of extraction in the northern Sabinas-Burro-Picachos and Burgos basins, provided exploratory studies confirm the availability of deep saline water, rather than freshwater needed for human consumption.
Carrying banners reading “Protect our water. Prohibit fracking” and “We are not a sacrifice zone,” demonstrators challenged the idea of sustainable fracking and questioned why the proposed ban would not extend to less densely populated regions.
“Many people live here too, and there are many highly valuable ecosystems,” Guillen said. “Just because they aren’t as popular doesn’t mean they lack value.”
– Communities seek protection from drilling
Last month, more than 60 chairs were arranged inside a community center in Bustamante, a town in the Sabinas Basin about two hours from the state capital Monterrey.
The meeting, organized by Nuevo Leon’s Environment Ministry and the environmental organization Pronatura, was intended to inform residents about a proposal to designate part of the municipality as a protected natural area.
Adults occupied about half the seats, while schoolchildren filled the rest. Attendance was relatively low for a town of more than 3,600 people.
Although the proposal was not explicitly presented as a measure to prevent fracking, some residents and local officials viewed it as a potential way to protect the area from future drilling.
Mayor Mario Resendez acknowledged that declining oil reserves had prompted interest in shale gas as an alternative energy source. But he warned that extraction could have devastating consequences for Bustamante, where tourism and agriculture are important sources of income.
The federal government has yet to identify specific drilling sites in the basin, but Resendez said maps of the proposed exploration area appeared to include Bustamante.
“If Bustamante is part of those plans, it will kill us,” he said. “Huge amounts of water are used, and on top of that, chemicals are added. Our town would disappear.”
Antonio Hernandez, a biologist with Pronatura, warned that fracking could place additional pressure on water supplies in the already arid region.
He also pointed to the risk of induced seismic activity associated with the extraction process, which he said could further threaten water availability for households and agriculture.
Bustamante has confronted similar concerns before.
In 2018, local authorities declared Sierra Gomas, an area about 15 miles (24 kilometers) south previously identified for hydrocarbon exploration and extraction, a protected natural reserve.
Amalia Martinez, a local resident who took part in protests against those earlier plans, said she had expected former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s commitment to avoiding fracking to continue under Sheinbaum.
– Energy dependence complicates government’s plans
The debate comes as Mexico faces growing pressure to increase domestic natural gas production amid rising demand and stagnant output.
Natural gas is essential to power generation, manufacturing and household energy consumption in Mexico, particularly in the country’s industrial regions.
According to the Energy Ministry’s latest development plan, the government aims to increase domestic dry natural gas production to nearly 5 billion cubic feet per day.
Mexico currently consumes roughly 9 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily, while state-owned energy company Pemex produces about 2.3 billion cubic feet.
The widening gap has increased Mexico’s reliance on imported gas, particularly from the US, raising concerns about the country’s energy security.
But Ferrari questioned whether fracking offered a financially sustainable solution.
He said unconventional wells could yield 10 to 100 times less gas than conventional wells, requiring substantially more drilling to maintain production.
“Consequently, 10 to 100 times more wells must be drilled,” he said.
Health concerns have also fueled opposition.
Physicians for Social Responsibility, a US-based nonprofit organization, concluded in a 2023 report that fracking could not be conducted without posing risks to human health and the climate.
For some Bustamante residents, those concerns are reinforced by experiences in nearby communities.
Ignacio Villarreal, who moved to Bustamante from Monclova, Coahuila, five years ago, said he and his wife, Sylvia Valdes, had witnessed tensions surrounding exploratory gas drilling in Castaños, a town near Monclova.
The drilling took place in a region already struggling with declining groundwater reserves.
“We often visited family and friends there, and the water supply was already fragile,” Villarreal said.
Lourdes Gonzalez, a local nurse, echoed those concerns and stressed the importance of raising public awareness about the potential consequences of fracking.
Hernandez, however, said organizing an effective campaign against drilling would be difficult because of the region’s sparse population and high levels of violence.
Sheinbaum has pledged to consult local communities before moving forward with any extraction plans.
For residents who attended the Bustamante meeting, the immediate challenge is ensuring that more people understand what could be at stake.
“Fracking poses a significant threat to our water supply and the life of our town,” Gonzalez said. “Something must be done.”