Pemex drills well in Coahuila to measure brackish water before deciding on fracking

Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) drilled a capture well in the community of Hidalgo, Coahuila, to measure the volume and quality of available brackish water and verify that it has no connection to freshwater aquifers, its director general, Juan Carlos Carpio Fragoso, told federal lawmakers on November 9, 2026.

The study is the technical step the company describes as a precondition for determining whether gas extraction through hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, is viable in the north of the country. The work is part of the assessments announced in August by the federal government in the Sabinas-Burro-Picachos and Burgos basins, which span Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, according to Forbes México. The expert committee accompanying the process recommended confirming the existence of salt water isolated from shallow aquifers, holding prior consultations and maintaining independent scientific oversight. The stakes for the region are direct: Expansión reports that purchases of U.S. gas have covered as much as 75% of national consumption.

In his appearance before the Chamber of Deputies, Carpio Fragoso specified that no projects are defined for 2027, since the decision depends on the well results and the committee's recommendations. The assessment focuses on brackish water unfit for human consumption. On the market side, Merlín Cochran, director of the Mexican Association of Hydrocarbon Companies (Amexhi), put the required investment at 108,000 million dollars and the number of new projects needed at 24, with up to 9,000 million additional cubic feet per day, according to Expansión. On the financial side, the Pemex director placed the oil company's debt at 77,600 million dollars at the end of September, its lowest level since 2014, and said that the debts with suppliers from 2024 will be paid, with the expectation of settling them during 2027.

President Claudia Sheinbaum has proposed evaluating technologies with water recycling and less toxic substances, and environmental viability remains subject to the studies, Forbes México reported.

What follows is the reading of the well and the expert committee's ruling, inputs that Pemex set as a condition for defining projects in 2027. The prior consultations and the independent scientific oversight recommended by the committee also remain pending.

This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.