Energy is an often overlooked, yet fundamental building block for economic growth and prosperity— especially in light of a shifting geopolitical context which has placed a premium on securing supply chains from disruption by malign actors and strategic competitors, there is a unique opportunity for North America as a bloc to rethink energy security. But the development of the North American natural gas industry has unfolded unevenly. While the United States has been quick to make the jump, even becoming a net energy exporter, Mexico in particular has been steadily decreasing its domestic production in favor of cheap, competitive U.S. imports.
In this episode, Ryan C. Berg sits down with Benigna Cortés Leiss, Nonresident Fellow in Latin American Energy at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Together, they discuss the obstacles facing Mexico's domestic natural gas sector, and how a focus on state-owned oil company PEMEX to the exclusion of other actors, has undermined the country's potential to capitalize on its other energy resources. They also discuss how a more robust Mexican gas industry could join the United States and Canada to seize on opportunities and ameliorate global energy insecurity prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.