Karoo shale gas to solve SA's energy problem
The Energy Information Administration of the US estimated that there are 485 trillion cubic feet of shale gas in the Karoo - enough to make SA self-sufficient in energy for decades to come, Shell's upstream manager for SA Jan Eggink said today.
Shell has applied to the government to explore for gas in the Karoo its plan has met with a barrage of opposition from environmental lobby groups. Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu has established a task team to investigate the pros and cons of fracking for gas and is expected to receive its repot in the next few months.
Addressing the Cape Town Press Club Mr Eggink said Shell would invest $200m during the exploration phase alone... a fraction of what would be invested if Shell proceeded with the development.
The benefits of gas for SA he said included the fact that it was a much cleaner form of fuel than the coal used currently and would enable SA to reduce its carbon footprint. A modern gas power plant he said generated up to 70% less CO2 than the old styled coal fired plant and was also cheaper to build.
He also said the surface footprint of a shale gas development will be a very small as compared to the overall acreage that Shell had applied to explore in.
Royal Dutch Shell said it hoped to invest $200m (about R1.4bn) to explore for shale gas in the Karoo - plans facing tough opposition from farmers and greens worried about the environmental impact.
Ecological concerns led the government to place a moratorium on oil and gas exploration licences in the region, where the controversial shale extraction technique of “fracking” might be deployed.
“If exploration efforts prove that shale contains commercially producible gas volumes, then South Africa could see production from this source within a decade,” Jan Willem Eggink, general manager upstream ventures for Shell’s South African unit, told a news conference.
Petrochemical group Sasol, Anglo American and Falcon Oil and Gas are among those eyeing shale gas in the region, with Shell leading the pack with exploration rights pending to 90 000km².
Farmers and conservationists are worried about the possible impact of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”, in which drillers blast millions of litres of water, sand and chemicals at high pressure into underground rock to create cracks for the gas and oil to escape.
The sparsely-populated Karoo is renowned for its rugged scenery and is home to rare species such as the mountain zebra and riverine rabbit, putting it high on the radar screen of conservationists.
Those in favour of fracking in the Karoo say the discovery of gas would help South Africa plug a chronic power shortage and reduce dependence on harmful coal-fired power stations. About 90% of the nation’s electricity is supplied by coal.
“By drawing on potential abundant domestic gas supplies, you can meet rising energy demand while maintaining energy security,” Eggink said.
He said he believed South Africa could well have at least half of an estimated 13.73 trillion m³ of trapped shale gas, enough to be commercially viable and allow the country to become energy self-sufficient for decades to come.
Eggink said the company would not compete with farmers for scarce water resources and would likely truck in water initially before trying to pipe it by using the brackish water found deep underground.
Eggink said Shell would also consider paying landowners for access to their land although no compensation policy was finalised yet.
Source: fin24, Thursday, 1 September 2011