PEMEX Clarifies: No Fracking for Shale Resources

PEMEX Director General Víctor Rodríguez clarified that the company's 2025-2035 Strategic Plan does not include the exploitation of unconventional shale resources through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. During a National Energy Forum in the Senate, Rodríguez Padilla stated that PEMEX's strategy focuses on conventional deposits in the Southeastern and Veracruz Basins, not on shale resources.

Rodríguez Padilla’s comments directly address previous speculation that the company would reverse the prior administration’s opposition to fracking. The new plan, he said, will instead leverage advancements in technology to explore complex geology in traditional, conventional sand deposits. This approach requires greater investment and technical expertise but avoids the use of fracking for shale. Rodríguez noted that the definition of traditional resources has evolved over time, with what was once considered "extraordinary" now being classified as conventional.

The exploration strategy will focus on incorporating reserves from these complex geological formations. Rodríguez Padilla explained that the Southeastern Basins, both marine and onshore, and the Veracruz Basins, do not have significant potential in unconventional deposits. The plan's viability hinges on obtaining the necessary authorizations from internal PEMEX bodies and other federal government agencies. The company's plan does, however, contemplate the need for private capital to assume risks in both oil and gas production from these "complex geology" fields.