Tuesday 28 August 2018

Mexico’s President-elect promises to ban fracking

Mexico's president-elect has promised to ban fracking across the country.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who is due to enter office in December, said he would call an end to the controversial oil and gas extraction method beginning to take place in the north of the nation.

Asked about the potential risks of fracking at a news conference, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said: "We will no longer use that method to extract petroleum."

Mexico has a significant potential shale formation in the Burgos basin and while few wells have been drilled, the government recently scheduled an auction for a number of blocks to host commercial fracking development.

A recent report suggests the amount of water used for fracking shale gas has increased by up to 770% in certain parts of the US.