Tuesday 11 March 2014 20:35

Abongile Dumako

The Eastern Cape government has set wheels in motion preparing for massive exploration and production of shale gas in the Karoo.

It has embarked on a R16 million research project with the Nelson Mandela University to determine the socio-economic implications of shale gas in the province.

The provincial government views the pending shale gas extraction as a potential game-changer of the province's economic fortunes.
The Karoo is one of the few major basins in the world where the natural baseline is still intact.

Estimates suggest that the recoverable gas in the Karoo range between 20 and 485-trillion cubic feet, with a potential revenue running into trillions of rands.

However, there is anxiety about the impact of shale gas extraction on water and environment. Government officials and interested parties gathered to navigate their way through this unfamiliar territory of shale gas extraction in the Karoo.

This research project will provide risk analysis advice for policy guidelines. "I think it's very important that everybody knows what this is about so that we can make collective decisions of whether to go ahead with this or not. And if we go ahead, what are we going do with it? If this is such a huge investment and a possible growth in investment, then everybody, from the townships to the president should be involved in making decisions," says Project leader Maarten de Wit.

The research will focus on the effects of hydraulic fracking on water reservoirs in the Karoo. If done well, fracking could also be an answer to the high unemployment rate in the Eastern Cape.

"We believe that we could take advantage of the energy transition in improving our skills base in the province, but also our research capacity so that we build a knowledge base that's useful for driving industrialisation in the province,” says Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism MEC Mcebisi Jonas.

Jonas indicates that though this is a national programme, the Eastern Cape has an interest as it wants to sharpen and improve its understanding of the programme. Government is expected to publish the shale gas exploration regulations before June 2014.

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