Mexico Says "Yes " to FrackingThe Secretary of Energy, Roco Nahle, took a 180-degree turn in the public discourse of the president of Mexico, Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador, regarding the subject of oil and gas exploitation. The head of Mexico's energy policy said that the present administration will use the fracking technique, as hydraulic fracturing is known in English, to enable or increase the extraction of gas and oil from the subsoil. But also, she warned, the most advanced technology with the least environmental impact will be used, which "is still more expensive". The official's announcement contradicts the initial opposition to fracking which, until now, has been repeated in the Presidents speeches. Nahle referred to the issue in response to a question from one of the participants in the Energy Mexico forum organized by the consulting firms EnergeA and HCX, and E.J. Krause Tarsus de Mxico, a leading company in the development of international business forums in Mexico, where decision-makers, investors, experts and analysts of the energy sector from different parts of the world meet. That's where Nahle announced that this government will use fracking. Her statements drew attention because they clarify the course of the new government. It is just that presidential statements, at a stroke of a pen, seemed to discard the technology of the future; the technology that allowed the United States to stop being an importer and become an exporter in just a decade. The resounding presidential NO to fracking implicitly ruled out a safe path to reverse the fall of oil production. It seemed pointless, when one of its repeated objectives is precisely to stop and reverse the decline in oil production. Fracture: the innovation It must be remembered that fracking represents perhaps the most important energy innovation in several decades and is being used not only by the United States but by many nations, especially the most advanced ones. With such technique, the countries that have used it have been able to substantially increase their proven oil reserves and the exploitation of shale gas. Not only that, but they have managed to increase the growth rate of GDP, employment and wages and, at the same time, they have reduced the energy prices. The treasure Hence the importance of the "note" (as they say in reporter jargon) that Nahle provided. By saying that Mexico will use the fracking technique, the scenarios of energy production in Mexico change radically! Mexico has a huge exploitable treasure, via fracking. The news is that Mexico has extraordinary potential to exploit its unconventional energy deposits. Mexico ranks sixth worldwide in volume of resources from this type of deposits (unconventional). The unconventional deposits, among others, refer to the exploitation via fracking of those, different to the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas that has been done so far in our country. To give you an idea of the size of what these unconventional deposits represent: more than half of the country's prospective oil and gas resources are unconventional: 60 billion barrels of oil equivalent! These resources are superior to the accumulated oil production in the whole history of the country (100 years) and could satisfy the current demand for up to 60 years. Another impressive fact: of the oil wealth that still remains in the national subsoil, 53% is in unconventional deposits. Roco Nahle was spontaneous in her response. She answered several questions from the audience, after her brief speech in which she said that the lopezobradorista government will respect the 107 contracts assigned with the energy reform and mentioned that the objective is to achieve a surplus in the oil trade balance, at the end of the administration. She also announced that the Dos Bocas refinery will be done through a direct award to avoid the participation of international companies with a history of corruption. Original Spanish version: https://www.eleconomista.com.mx/opinion/Fracking-si-Rocio-Nahle-20190130-0008.html