[Premium] South Africa Needs 'Better Assessment of Shale Potential'

By John Fraser, Johannesburg

Delegates at a South African conference on shale gas have been told that much more work needs to be done to assess whether this is, indeed, a feasible part of the future energy mix.

In May, a senior government official had said that the first shale gas exploration licences in South Africa, including the right to frack, might be awarded by the end of this September in its remote Karoo area; companies like Shell and Falcon are known to be interested.

Now however licence awards look set to be delayed because of a tense dispute between the mining industry and government over plans to give a greater share of projects to black South Africans.

The conference ‘The Shale Gas Industry in South Africa: Toward a Science Action Plan’ was held late August in Port Elizabeth and brought together academics, government officials and environmental groups. 

The top civil servant in the Department of Science and Technology (DST) Phil Mjwara said that a research plan is needed to help develop expertise on shale gas exploitation in South Africa. The event discussed recent reports on shale gas, and looked at the regulatory environment and existing data on the potential for this fuel source in the national mix.

"Some of the objectives of (a research) plan should be to develop national technical capabilities in key focal areas, including pure science, engineering and social science associated with shale gas exploitation," said Mjwara.

He noted that the development of shale gas must strike a healthy balance between environmental protection and economic benefit.

Professor Cyril O'Connor from the University of Cape Town said that the amount of shale gas available in South Africa is still unclear, with estimates ranging between 20 trillion ft³ to over 400 trillion ft³.  He added that, as shale gas exploitation requires use of relatively large quantities of water, greater clarity is needed on the availability of water sources such as underground saltwater.

Parts of South Africa have been experiencing severe drought, with dams at low levels, and any company intending to proceed with fracking will need to address the water needs of any project. 

The conference's host was the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) whose vice-president, Barney Pityana, said efforts to expand South Africa's oil reserves and its petrochemical industry had been underway for generations, and started with exploration along the Southern Cape Coast: "So far, though, no substantial findings of oil have been discovered, even though huge resources have been invested in exploration over a very long time." 

He noted that South Africa is known to possess considerable reserves of shale gas and oil reserves in the Western, Northern and Eastern Cape rock basin. "This is because of the geology of the area, and the possibilities of economically available and advanced extractive technology means that this industry is capable of development. It could provide a game changer for the South African economy and could make a major contribution to South Africa's commitments in terms of climate change by limiting South Africa's reliance on the coal industry for its energy needs,” he said.