Mexico depends heavily on natural gas from the United States, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo acknowledged, asserting that alternatives are already being worked on to strengthen the country’s energy sovereignty.
During her morning press conference, the president recalled that during the administration of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, gasoline and diesel imports were reduced, thanks to the construction of the Olmeca refinery, the purchase of the Deer Park refinery in Texas, and the modernization of plants such as Tula and Salina Cruz. However, she noted that the remaining challenge is natural gas, the majority of which Mexico imports from Texas.
She explained that natural gas is primarily used for industry and electricity generation, and that there are long-term contracts with companies in Texas, even for 10 or 15 years, that must be fulfilled. However, she emphasized that it is essential to discuss sovereignty in this energy source.
Sheinbaum Pardo explained that Pemex, in coordination with the Mexican Petroleum Institute, created a working group to evaluate different domestic production options. Among them are the exploitation of conventional gas fields, the decontamination of reserves in Cantarell, and the utilization of methane from landfills and biomass.
This is because she said that fracking—a technique of extracting gas from the subsoil using hydraulic pressure—is a method with a high environmental impact due to water consumption and chemical contamination.
“It’s not about using those techniques that cause so much environmental damage, but rather looking at different options, particularly conventional ones, for exploiting natural gas that allow us to achieve greater self-sufficiency. For that purpose, a technical group was formed to explore the different options available to obtain more natural gas,” President Claudia Sheinbaum emphasized.
She also noted that, although imported gas from Texas is cheaper, Mexico must move toward energy self-sufficiency, as it has already done with gasoline and diesel. “It is very pertinent that in Mexico we also talk about sovereignty in terms of gas and other energy sources.”
Source: contralinea
