From the Field

CNH gives Pemex fracking approval in Mexico

MEXICO CITY, February 12, 2019 – Mexico’s National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) has authorised state-owned Pemex to use hydraulic fracturing techniques in four licences in Veracruz state, international media reported on Monday.

The NOC is planning to drill two wells in each of the Amatitlán, Soledad, Pitipec and Miahuapan blocks with the hopes of adding reserves of 201 million boe. The wells are expected to require an investment of USD 203 million.

“There is regulation that permits fracking and, while there has been talk of prohibiting it, for the time being we are acting in accordance with the law by approving this practice,” CNH commissioner Gaspar Franco Hernández said, cited by Argus Media.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has been a staunch opponent of hydraulic fracturing, calling for a ban during his time in office. However, last week Secretary of Energy Rocío Nahle seemed to walk back previous statements, saying at a conference that Mexico has “gas reserves that can be obtained by fracking, and we are walking that path, analysing new technology.”