Mexico government prohibits unconventional drilling in key shale basin

Mexico’s government has moved to block unconventional drilling in the country’s most important shale basin, reinforcing a policy stance that keeps one of North America’s largest untapped natural gas reserves effectively off-limits. The decision centers on the Burgos Basin, a geological extension of the prolific Eagle Ford shale that stretches across South Texas, and it carries significant implications for energy markets, US-Mexico trade dynamics, and commodity-exposed investment portfolios. The Burgos Basin holds roughly two-thirds of Mexico’s total technically recoverable shale gas resources. Keeping it locked up means the country remains overwhelmingly dependent on pipeline imports from its northern neighbor. A fracking saga years in the making Former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador instituted a fracking moratorium in 2019, and no new approvals for unconventional drilling have been granted since. The handful of projects that continued operating did so under prior approvals from the National Hydrocarbons Commission, Mexico’s energy regulator, which had green-lit them before the ban took effect. Mexico now imports approximately 80% of its natural gas demand from the United St...