It is vital that all matters related to the development of a shale gas industry be carefully analysed and evaluated before South Africa considers exploiting shale gas, says University of Cape Town senior researcher Professor Cyril O’Connor.

“It is well known that the exploitation of shale gas may have significant social, economic and environmental impacts, while at the same time presenting considerable technical challenges,” he said at a shale gas conference, in Port Elizabeth, on Thursday.

O’Conner, who is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), chaired the ASSAf panel that investigated South Africa’s technical readiness to support the shale gas industry.

The study was undertaken in partnership with the South African Academy of Engineering and the final peer-reviewed report, including consensus findings and recommendations, was approved by an ASSAf Council in 2015 and formally launched in October 2016.

Presenting the report findings, O’Connor said that the amount of shale gas available in South Africa was still unclear, with estimates ranging between 20 trillion cubic feet (tcf) and over 400 tcf.

“None of these reserves has yet been proven and lower value is probably closer to reality,” he said.

He added that, since shale gas exploitation required the use of relatively large quantities of water, greater clarity was needed on the availability of alternative water sources such as underground saline water.

“The groundwater systems at depths in excess of 1 000 m prior to hydraulic fracturing (fracking) are not well understood, nor are there adequate near-accurate estimates of the water requirements for drilling and fracking in the Karoo,” he said.

He noted that local water supplies should not be used and all wastewater must be properly disposed of or recycled, highlighting that there was a universal concern about the nature of the chemicals used in the fracking process.

O’Connor further said the report showed that baseline studies were needed to ascertain the deep level underground geological characteristics of the Karoo and the current status of the environment.

“South Africa is currently experiencing a major skills crisis in terms of the high-level technical competencies that would be required to implement such an industry,” he noted.

According to the report, a two-phase approach for exploration is required.

“Firstly, standard surface exploration and acquisition of all necessary geological data is necessary, and, secondly, the design and building of an experimental drilling and controlled fracking research laboratory needs to be established,” he said.

O'Connor added that the correct environmental-impact assessment procedure was central in ensuring the success of the upstream to downstream shale gas enterprise. 

Upstream to downstream shale gas activities, he said, would require the cooperation of a range of national government departments, as well as potentially affected provinces and municipalities.

There are indications that South Africa possesses significant shale gas reserves and that, if exploited, these reserves could make an important contribution to national and regional energy needs.

“It is critical that the implementation of any fracking should follow best practice at all stages. A clear legislative environment and a rigorous regulatory and monitoring structure needs to be in place to ensure continuous monitoring at all stages of the life of a well to ensure compliance with all the relevant regulations.

“Specifically, the ASSAf panel is of the view that no licences for exploration or production should be issued until the set of recommendations made in its report have been addressed,” he said.