Sheinbaum Confirms Trump Raised Expanding US Gas and Oil Assistance

President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on October 19, 2026, at her morning press conference in the National Palace, that Donald Trump has raised in phone calls increasing Mexican purchases of US natural gas and having US companies help on oil. The president specified that Mexico's response is to increase its own gas extraction and that constitutional restrictions limit oil investment, according to La Jornada.

According to Bloomberg Línea, the president denied that the proposals are conditioned on closing the trade negotiation between Mexico and the United States. Mexico produces 1.7 million barrels per day of crude, of which about 10% comes from private companies and the rest from Pemex, and it is a net importer of US gas, on which 75% of national consumption depends via pipelines. The issue matters for the region because the balance between domestic production and imports defines Gulf gas flows into the Mexican electricity system.

Sheinbaum said some US companies already "participate with Pemex and could expand their investment through this channel," and mentioned that regulated contracting mechanisms exist in the new Pemex Law, citing the case of Halliburton, which has worked with the oil company for 80 years, according to Bloomberg Línea. She added that Mexico buys natural gas from the United States to supply five new combined-cycle plants, according to Energía a Debate, and that her administration is also seeking to develop domestic gas assets. As an example of private participation, she cited Sempra Energy's liquefaction plant in Ensenada, Baja California, which imports US gas and re-exports it mainly to Asia.

The president maintained that Trump has not insisted on the issue and reiterated that Mexico's legal framework does not allow ceding rights over oil. The next checkpoint is the review of the trade agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada, and the evolution of Pemex production against the electricity grid's gas demand.

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