Hydraulic fracturing in the Karoo, South Africa

[Dean Uštar,16 Vid Rozman,17 Slovenia 28 March 2017 at 13:05 Post count: 0]

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We choose this case because in the Karoo there is not enough water already. If companies starts this fracking industries, there will probably erupt a war for water, which may cause the collapse of culture. This must be spoken of, so we can prevent collapse of culture.

Various oil and gas companies (such as Shell, Bundu, Falcon, Anglo) have applied for licenses to explore for shale gas in the Greater Karoo Basin (spanning from the Western Cape to KZN), with the intention of producing natural gas using the controversial method of horizontal hydraulic fracturing. Local farming communities (and South African citizens at large) are concerned about the possible water and air contamination, surface disruption, threats to existing economies (agriculture, tourism) and human and animal health. The carbon footprint of shale gas development and its contribution to climate change is also a concern. It is a contentious issue because shale gas is competing with viable alternatives for energy production, using renewable technologies such as solar and wind, which are possible in the area.

Following great public concern and opposition, the South African government declared a moratorium on exploration license applications in April 2011, with the purpose of appointing an interdisciplinary task team to conduct a feasibility study on the full effects and implications of fracking. No civil society groups were part of the task team. The moratorium was renewed for a further six months in September 2011 to allow the task team to complete its study.

Same problems abroad:

The biggest concerns with fracking are environmental and health concerns. For example, in the United States fracking doesn’t fall under the regulation of the Clean Air and Water Act. Additionally China, with almost 1.5 times the shale reserves of the US, doesn’t have any substantial environmental regulation. This allows natural gas companies to operate without disclosing the chemicals they are injecting into the ground. If there is a report of contaminated ground water near a fracking site, this nondisclosure makes it very difficult to actually link the contamination to fracking.

Hydraulic fracturing produces enormous volumes of wastewater, which are typically either injected back into the ground or processed by wastewater treatment plants.  Unfortunately, these treatment plants are often overwhelmed by the sheer volume of wastewater produced during fracking, and there have been reported incidences in the Marcellus basin of wastewater plants dumping contaminated water into local rivers and streams.

Additionally, many natural gas deposits are located in water stressed areas, for example the Karoo Basin in South Africa or the Turpan Basin in China. Because hydraulic fracturing requires large quantities of water, any shale gas development in already water stressed areas will create a conflict between gas companies and local farmers.

There are, moreover, concerns that the water used in drilling shale gas is fused with sand and chemicals (corrosive inhibitors, surfactants, iron control chemicals, biocides, friction reducers and scale inhibitors). When these are injected down the well, there is a strong possibility of their polluting underground water. Freshwater reserves can also be contaminated when the fluid is spilt at the sites of the well or in other accidental spills. Moreover, the fact that South Africa is new to the gas industry raises anxieties, as the country lacks the infrastructure, expertise, experience and regulation that is needed in the industry to conduct fracking safely.

 

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