Energy group Shell estimates that it could invest about $200-million during any possible exploration phase in the Karoo region of South Africa, which would be a “fraction” of what would be invested should it proceed to the development of such resources.

However, prospecting could only be pursued should it receive a licence to explore and should the South African government lift a moratorium on the issuance of such licences. Speaking in Cape Town on Thursday, upstream manager in South Africa Jan Willem Eggink said that, should it receive permission to explore, it would drill at least six wells within the first three-year licence period. “If these show encouraging results, we will probably want to drill more exploration wells,” he added.

The group would use water from outside of the arid Karoo region during any exploration campaign and wastewater generated from drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, would be kept in containers ahead of “appropriate” disposal. But Shell was facing significant opposition to its shale gas exploration aspirations in the territory, with farmers especially concerned about the prospect of having to compete with energy companies for already scare water resources.

This opposition has also led to the formation of the Treasure the Karoo Action Group (TKAG), which has raised questions about the process and the potential for fracking operations to contaminate water resources. It has also questioned whether the carbon emissions are as low as advertised by fracking proponents. The TKAG has suggested that the current moratorium on the issuance of exploration licences should be sustained until it is conclusively proved that fracking is the only and best option to sustainably supply South Africa’s energy needs and create work. Government has indicated that the moratorium could endure until February 2012, and Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu indicated recently that a decision on South Africa’s future approach to the matter would only be made once a special task team established to study fracking in South Africa had completed its report. Eggink argued that it would be desirable for South Africa to explore its unconventional gas resources to assess their commercial viability.

“If exploration efforts prove that the shale contains commercially producible gas volumes, then South Africa could see production from this source within a decade. If the volumes are even half as large as the USA’s Energy Information Administration estimates, then South Africa can even become energy self-sufficient for decades to come,” he argued.

The US Department of Energy estimated that South Africa’s shale gas resource could be as large as 485-trillion cubic feet, or the fifth largest in the world. Should Shell move from exploration to development in the Karoo, Eggink said that about 40 to 50 well pads with a maximum of 32 well heads per well pad would be developed and would be confined to about one percent of the total area covered by the licence application.

“Based on current technology deployed in existing European operations and adjusted for South African circumstances, the footprint of a renewable source such as solar means you need more than 100 times the size of one shale-gas pad and an associated combined-cycle gas turbine plant for the same GWh electricity per annum,” he averred. Complete news...

By Engineeringnews.co.za