SA (Pasa) is set to make recommendations to the minister of energy on the granting of exploration licences for shale gas in the Karoo, according to the agency’s manager, David van der Spuy. Van der Spuy said contrary to popular belief no shale gas exploration licences had as yet been issued in the country. “The issuing of licences is under evaluation. We have reviewed feedback from the public consultation process with all stakeholders and the various scientific reports on shale gas as well as the comments and responses that have been made by the public, interest groups and industry,” he said. “We have taken into account the concerns raised about fracking in the Karoo and are now in the process of finalising it all to brief the minister. Our hope is to get this to the minister by no later than the third quarter this year.” He said a moratorium on the granting of new shale gas exploration rights remained in place and permits granted previously did not permit hydraulic fracturing – or fracking. Fracking in the Karoo has been a contentious issue. Environmental groups have raised doubt about the process and its real economic impact – particularly when initial estimates of 379 trillion cubic feet of gas in 2015 were said to be unfounded and that it was more likely to be only about a tenth of that at around 36 trillion cubic feet. “We have since looked at the data in more depth and revised our estimate of the country’s potential shale gas and believe it could be as much as 201 trillion cubic feet.”
