Shale gas: A bridge too far for South Africa

During a media briefing by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment on 22 November on the outcomes of COP 27, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, stated that South Africa regards gas as a transition fuel to a low carbon economy.

“The oil and gas industry has played a pertinent role in crafting the narrative around gas being a “bridge fuel” or a “transitional energy source” to a low carbon future, in order to prolong dependence on fossil fuels. Not only does this delay the adoption of renewable energy on a large scale and lock the economy into further fossil fuel dependence, but the irony is that Minister Creecy’s comments were made against the backdrop of COP 27 and the discussions around investment in clean energy for South Africa to transition to a net-zero carbon economy by 2050,” says Jonathan Deal, CEO of the Treasure Karoo Action Group (TKAG).

“At a time when the environmental and health impacts of fossil fuel extraction are well established, it is irresponsible for government to pursue the exploration and extraction of additional fossil fuel reserves – especially since we know that coal will remain part of our energy mix in the foreseeable future,” adds Lambert de Klerk, Head of Environmental Affairs at AfriForum.

TKAG and AfriForum believes that the fundamental motivation for the South African government to pursue shale gas is built on the incorrect assumptions of an abundance of energy, jobs, revenue and that gas is a cleaner burning fuel than coal.

Within this context, the question of shale gas mining in South Africa is then reduced to these issues:

• The gas industry has routinely and vastly overstated potential gas reserves, jobs and economic benefits to South Africa. This has had the effect of stimulating speculation and encouraging false tales of wealth and an abundance of jobs. Jobs are typically highly technical and awarded to international contractors, as we have seen in other regions.
• Once drilling and fracking is completed, the activity significantly reduces and the gas drilling pad is managed by only a few skilled staff. Rural towns will be left to suffer from the health, environmental and socio-economic ills that accompany the boom-and-bust cycles of extraction operations, of which the long-term costs will be borne by the taxpayer with the probability that the negative impacts would be irreversible.
• Even in countries where corruption is not as rife as in South Africa, the mining industry has a dirty reputation. Civil society will have to remain vigilant around fossil fuel projects.
• Regulations for unconventional gas exploration and extraction have not yet been finalised nor have baseline studies been conducted, as specified in the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA).
• The certainty of environmental damage, public health impacts and degradation of agricultural land cannot be dismissed. South Africa has a legacy of environmental damage due to the mining industry, with the persistent inability and lack of capacity of the Departments responsible for minerals, environment and water to ensure environmental compliance in the mining sector. 
• Water is probably one of the greatest challenges in South Africa at present and the proponents of fracking in South Africa are greatly downplaying the issues of finding water to use for fracking and dealing with the disposal of tens of millions of litres of contaminated water per single drilling location.
• Even if gas is located, it needs to be extracted, stored, refined and transported to a place where South Africa would be in a position to utilise it for electricity generation, which, with Eskom in its current state, seems highly problematic.
• The technical aspects of actually finding gas, extracting it without polluting water, air and crops and moving the volatile material through pipelines, or on South African roads or railways are a bridge too far for a government that cannot manage the supply of even basic services. Many of the fundamental questions around the feasibility, safety, infrastructure and practicalities of fracking operations have not yet been answered.

“Within the context of these highlighted issues, the spectre of global warming, whilst being of enormous importance, appears to be of secondary importance to South Africa at this juncture. The downside of permitting this activity to commence now will be experienced within months by the communities who will live with it,” Deal and De Klerk concluded.