The government has released new draft rules for public comment for onshore shale gas fracking, four years after the Supreme Court of Appeal set aside regulations governing hydraulic fracturing in the ecologically sensitive Karoo region.
The proposed regulations and minimum requirements apply to the exploration and production of onshore oil and gas that requires hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, a process of extracting natural gas from shale rock layers by creating cracks to allow the gas to escape.
A decade ago the Karoo sparked intense interest from companies including Shell, Sasol and Falcon Oil & Gas, but farmers and environmentalists went to court to challenge any drilling in the region, which saw enthusiasm wane amid regulatory uncertainty.
“The regulations identify prohibited activities and prohibited geographic areas for the use of hydraulic fracturing technology, which include the use of potable water for hydraulic fracturing activities and the use of municipal water treatment facilities for the disposal of waste from hydraulic fracturing operations,” said the forestry, fisheries, & environment department on Wednesday.
Fracking back on the radar as draft shale gas regulations released
Image: REUTERS/JESSICA LUTZ
The government has released new draft rules for public comment for onshore shale gas fracking, four years after the Supreme Court of Appeal set aside regulations governing hydraulic fracturing in the ecologically sensitive Karoo region.
The proposed regulations and minimum requirements apply to the exploration and production of onshore oil and gas that requires hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, a process of extracting natural gas from shale rock layers by creating cracks to allow the gas to escape.
A decade ago the Karoo sparked intense interest from companies including Shell, Sasol and Falcon Oil & Gas, but farmers and environmentalists went to court to challenge any drilling in the region, which saw enthusiasm wane amid regulatory uncertainty.
“The regulations identify prohibited activities and prohibited geographic areas for the use of hydraulic fracturing technology, which include the use of potable water for hydraulic fracturing activities and the use of municipal water treatment facilities for the disposal of waste from hydraulic fracturing operations,” said the forestry, fisheries, & environment department on Wednesday.
Exploration for petroleum by fracking cannot go ahead, SCA rules
The department said environmental authorisation was required for each phase of the process, including seismic surveys without fracking and the production phase.
In 2017 geologists at the University of Johannesburg and three other institutions estimated the gas resource in the Karoo was probably about 4-trillion m³.
Reuters
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