If fracking were allowed in South Africa it could inject about R11-billion into the GDP.
An August report by auditors KPMG made public yesterday shows that the controversial method for extracting fuels from rock could put R10.2-billion to R11.2-billion into the national economy, depending on how much of the fracked natural gas was consumed locally and how much was exported. It could also provide direct employment for about 30,000 people.
The report states that more jobs could be created later because of the benefits of economic growth.
"Oil and gas resources are critical to meeting global energy needs.
"Although renewable energy sources have an important role to play, they do not yet have the scale to reduce the need for other primary [hydrocarbon] energy sources.
"The development of domestic hydrocarbon resources, such as gas, could play a role in meeting South Africa's energy needs.
"Developing gas resources could hold further economic and social benefits in terms of GDP, employment creation and increased government revenue," the KPMG report states.
Estimates indicate that there is as much as 390trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Karoo Basin, which stretches across two-thirds of the country.
There are currently at least seven companies seeking the government's permission to explore at least 18.3million hectares for natural gas.
Texas-based Rhino Resources, which wants to explore for shale gas or coal-based methane in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State, released the KPMG report on its website yesterday.
Rhino vice-president and CEO Phillip Steyn said: "As this report has shown, South Africa has abundant energy resources which, if safely developed, will provide a tremendous benefit for the people and economy."
Environmental and community activists in the Karoo, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal have been staunchly anti-fracking, arguing that the environmental risks would outweigh any benefits.
At the Frack Free Fest in Matatiele last week they cited pollution of water and destruction of grazing land as key problem areas.
One of the event's organisers, Nicky McLeod, said: "Our water resources are too vulnerable to take the slightest chance."
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