Mexico’s national energy company, Pemex, has been conducting
hydraulic fracking to extract hydrocarbons in Mexico since 2003. However, with
the recent changes on Mexico’s energy laws the activity will now be open to “Round One” tenders for direct access to fields from foreign companies such as Halliburton,
Schlumberger, and Baker Hughes.
According to information accessed by CartoCrítica, a civil
society organization in Mexico, Pemex has registered at least 924 wells as
having been drilled using fracking in Mexico, including in the states of
Coahuila (47 wells), Nuevo Leon (182 wells), Puebla (233 wells), Tabasco (13
wells), Tamaulipas (100 wells) and Veracruz (349 wells).
However, the Pemex document contradicts another from Mexico’s
Ministry of Energy (SENER), dated April 2010, which specifically references the
hydraulic fracturing of 1,323 wells, and with this greater number only being in
the “Chicontepec Paleocanal”, a well-known oil field that covers the states of
Veracruz and northern Puebla.
CartoCrítica, in citing the discrepancy, is calling out the
Mexican federal government for its lack of transparency. To date, CartoCrítica
says that the government has refused to release data related to the oil
industry and oil infrastructure in Mexico, which has resulted in both social
and environmental risks.
Specifically, CartoCrítica says that the opacity regarding
oil infrastructure spans numerous areas, including: the geographic location of
wells and pipelines; the minimum technical specifications for each well; the delineation
of hydrocarbon fields; and the location of the boundaries, among others. There
is also concern with regard to the lack of transparency within the bidding
process for access to the wells.
Not here, not there, not now, not ever! |
As well, the states of Tamaulipas and Veracruz are dangerous places to dissent, with civil populations and journalists terrorized by both criminal organizations and local governments. This makes resistance by organizations such as Alianza Mexicana Contra el Fracking difficult, especially at the local level.
About fracking
The map below shows the concentration of active fracking areas along Mexico's gulf coast.
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