Fracking: Uruguay’s government seeks law extending temporary ban

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Fracking is a technique that emerged in the 1940s and is mostly applied to unconventional reserves in order to enhance the extraction of hydrocarbons. During this process, artificial fractures are created in the bedrock by injecting fluids at high pressure.

The government’s proposal is based on the recommendation of the National Commission for Scientific and Technical Evaluation (CNECT), which operates under the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining, and conducted an evaluation of this activity’s domestic and international background. The commission delivered its recommendation on Thursday (2).

Undersecretary of Industry, Energy and Mining Walter Verri said that the extension of the moratorium through a law will legally “shield the country” from the prospect of fracking for a longer period of time, according to a Ministry press release. It also ruled out that the government is considering conventional and unconventional exploration at a time when the country is heading towards a second energy transition based on renewable energies.

This decision marks a difference with respect to the energy policies of past administrations which, while focusing on renewable energies, had also been inclined to drill for hydrocarbons in Uruguayan territory.

Verri also praised the “broad base of political consensus” given that the CNECT is made up of representatives of various organizations, both governmental and scientific, as well as from civil society. He recalled that the commission was created in the previous government and established in the current one, with no political interference of any kind. It is “a State policy that transcends political parties,” he said.

Depending on the content of the report, Parliament will have to decide whether to maintain the ban on the use of the technique or to allow it under certain conditions as of 2022.

In the document presented on December 2, the organizations adopted the extension of the moratorium on fracking by a majority position. As a minority, the Uruguayan Network of Environmental NGOs recommended the ban of this activity.