The Eagle Ford Shale formation in South Texas made headlines for its abundance of natural gas, but the formation doesn’t end at the Rio Grande. That fact was not lost on the Mexican government, which recently announced plans to expand its drilling for gas there.
Last week, the Mexican Minister of Energy disclosed plans to ramp up hydraulic fracturing operations in Northern Mexico. While the announcement wasn’t especially newsworthy for many this side of the border, it’s big news in Mexico.
Factories in Mexican border-states use a lot of electricity and they’ve been importing more and more natural gas from Texas just to keep the lights on in recent years. “And they’re looking – just like we are – to become more energy independent,” said Bob Gibb, who specializes in the energy industry for Navigant.
Gibb said the U.S. exports around four billion cubic feet of gas to Mexico every day, up from three billion just a year ago. Mexico’s governmental structure could enable the ramping up of its own production, he said.
“I would suspect that it’s going to be something that they will be able to accelerate, if you will, at a greater rate of development than we can in the United States. They’re not as likely to have the political discussion that we have here,” Gibb told KUT News. “That’s not to say they’re going to ignore it. They’re just going to be able to address it a little more quickly.”
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