Pilot fracking projects could begin in northern Mexico as soon as next month, according to a person with knowledge of government discussions who spoke to the Reuters news agency.

Citing four unnamed sources said to be “familiar” with government discussions, Reuters reported on Wednesday that President Claudia Sheinbaum is evaluating potential pilot fracking projects in the northern border states of Coahuila and Tamaulipas.

Mexico’s Sheinbaum weighs pilot fracking projects to boost gas production, sources say https://t.co/r4ZPGh1u7Q https://t.co/r4ZPGh1u7Q

— Reuters (@Reuters) August 5, 2026

If approved, Reuters reported, Pemex, Mexico’s state oil company, “could begin work on the first pilot projects as early as September, one of the three sources said.”

The publication of the Reuters report comes almost four months after Sheinbaum presented a group of scientists that was tasked with assessing the viability of so-called “sustainable fracking” in Mexico.

The president has acknowledged her previous opposition to fracking, but now asserts that it can take place safely and without excessive water use via the employment of new technologies.

She said earlier this year that experts were assessing whether it was “feasible” to carry out fracking with recycled water and “other chemicals” and “other ways that don’t have the environmental impacts that hydraulic fracturing has today.”

The commencement of large-scale fracking in Mexico could help the country boost domestic production of natural gas and thus reduce its reliance on imports from the United States. As things stand, Mexico only produces a small amount of oil and gas through fracking, a practice that was largely paused by the government of former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Reuters: Sheinbaum has received the findings of the expert panel 

On July 28, Sheinbaum told reporters that the group of scientists tasked with assessing the feasibility of sustainable fracking had been expanded in order to take into account “additional points of view.” Consequently, the president said that the group’s ability to come to one of her morning press conferences to provide “a result” of its evaluation had been “slightly delayed.”

However, Reuters, citing three of its sources, reported that the president received “the findings of a panel of specialists in geology, water, engineering and environmental issues” a few weeks ago.

Scientists, activists push back on Sheinbaum’s fracking plan as opposition movement grows

The news agency noted that neither Sheinbaum’s office nor Pemex responded to its requests for comment about the government’s fracking plans.

Sheinbaum indicated last week that an announcement on the expert group’s “guidance” regarding the feasibility of sustainable fracking in Mexico would be made soon. She said she believed that the committee’s conclusions will be “satisfactory for everyone,” although a decision in favor of fracking — as appears likely — will no doubt trigger criticism from environmental groups and others.

Challenges to fracking in Coahuila and Tamaulipas 

Undertaking pilot fracking projects in Coahuila and Tamaulipas, as well as larger-scale projects in the northern states in the future, will not necessarily be straightforward.

“Each potential development area presents distinct challenges: Coahuila is governed by the opposition, Tamaulipas faces security risks linked to organized crime, and water scarcity remains ​a concern in parts of the resource-rich Tampico-Misantla basin,” Reuters reported.

The news agency also said: “Intensive unconventional development would require hundreds of wells and continuous operations, making any interruption costly; such wells typically ​decline rapidly and require constant investment to sustain production.”

The Tampico-Misantla basin — which has Mexico’s largest fracking potential — is mostly located in Veracruz, the Gulf coast state that borders Tamaulipas to the south. However, citing its sources, Reuters said that “the government is studying an area near the U.S. border in Coahuila within the Burro-Picachos platform.”

That part of Coahuila borders the Eagle Ford formation in Texas, which in June alone “produced 4.3 billion cubic feet of gas per day, ​a volume roughly equivalent to all of Pemex’s gas production nationwide,” according to Reuters.

Citing Pemex data, Reuters reported that the state oil company — ahead of the possible commencement of pilot fracking projects in northern Mexico — has drilled 25 exploratory wells in the Sabinas-Burro Picachos, Burgos and Tampico-Misantla basins, which span Coahuila, Tamaulipas and Veracruz. The news agency also said that Pemex has used fracking in the Chicontepec project, which spans Veracruz, Puebla and Hidalgo.

No alternative to fracking?

The numerous concerns about hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, are well known. Among those concerns are ones about groundwater contamination, methane emissions, earthquakes and impact on water supply. In addition, the commencement of large-scale fracking in Mexico could delay the transition to renewable energy, although the federal government — led by a climate scientist — is implementing an ambitious renewable energy plan.

Despite the concerns about fracking, one of Reuters sources said ​there was no alternative for Mexico if the country wanted to boost oil and gas production. Another source described Mexico’s current dependence on gas imports from the United States as “alarming.”

Sheinbaum said in February that Mexico imports from the United States around 75% of the natural gas it uses.

Virtually all of Mexico’s gas imports arrive via pipeline from the United States, creating a dependence that some energy analysts describe as a national security risk.

According to Reuters, Pemex currently produces an average of 4.869 billion ​cubic feet of gas per day in addition to 1.658 million barrels of oil and condensate.

With reports from Reuters