Abstract

DE LA VEGA NAVARRO, Angel  and  RAMIREZ VILLEGAS, Jaime. Shale Gas in Mexico: Resources, Exploitation, Uses and Impacts. Economía UNAM [online]. 2015, vol.12, n.34, pp.79-105. ISSN 1665-952X.

Energy facts and processes have accelerated, mainly as a result of innovations and technological advances. A good example is what has recently taken place in the United States in the field of unconventional natural gas, producing expectations about the possibility of replicating the shale revolution in other countries. Precisely, information coming from the Energy Information Agency recently positioned Mexico at the top world places concerning shale gas resources in its territory. Based on this information official statements have been made about the possibility of these resources to contribute to a better energy supply and to impact economic development both at national and local levels. Recognizing the importance of the US successes and performances, a product of specific combination of conditions and factors analyzed in the article, it is not possible to sustain that they could be replicated in Mexico. A strategy to detonate the eventual exploitation of that energy source demands a deep knowledge of the structural situation of the natural gas industry. It is also necessary to understand technical aspects concerning unconventional gas production processes, to be able to understand the way economic, organizational and regulatory issues are structured. It is within an integral framework of energy, environmental and technological policies that the possible exploitation of shale gas by public and private actors should be analyzed and discussed. Once the existence of resources technically and economically recoverable is fully confirmed and the environmental impacts of their exploitation fully assessed, it is also necessary to build or reinforce a specific institutional and regulatory framework in order to guarantee an adequate development of this sector.

Keywords : Mining; Gas Utilities; Alternative Energy Sources.

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