What the frack is going on in the Karoo?

Posted by Kelsey Wiens on 11 April 2011

The home of exclusive succulents, bushman rock art and the Cango Caves are in danger. The problem is that no one knows exactly what that danger is yet. Shell South Africa is bringing fracking to the Karoo. The residents and lovers of the Karoo are rallying to protect this fragile landscape.

Shell is leading the application process into hydraulic fracturing in the Karoo. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves drilling one to five km underground to a layer where natural gas is trapped. Using water, sand and chemicals the rock is repeatedly fractured by high-pressure explosions underground. These high-pressure explosions allow for the gas to be collected.

The Shell application covers a total area of about 30 000 km, including the magisterial districts of Aberdeen, Beaufort-West, Carnarvon, Graaff-Reinet, Middelburg, Murraysburg, Noupoort, Richmond and Victoria-West. Shell is working with Golder Associates to produce a Environmental Management Programme (EMP) which is studying the potential environmental and health dangers of hydraulic fracturing. In March 2011, Golder took their road show through the Karoo with public meetings and open houses.

The Great Karoo covers an area of more than 400,000 sq kms. Agriculture is the economic backbone of the area, though recently game farms and tourism have started making an economic impact. The Karoo is as well known for its star-filled night sky, as well as its dusty towns. Most communities and farms in the Karoo depend wholly on groundwater. Recently, the Karoo has faced crippling water shortages. In January 2011, after Beaufort-West’s Gamka Dam dried up, the town start using treated recycled sewage water as a stop-gap while they researched a long-term solution.

Shell South Africa is unable at this time to disclose what chemicals will be involved in the fracking process. At their Johannesburg presentation on 10March 2011, Shell did not allay the biggest of the concerns of ground water contamination. Shell cannot categorically state that the chemicals pumped into the ground as part of the fracking process would not make it into the groundwater aquifers. Chairman and Vice President of Shell South Africa Energy (Pty) Limited, Bonang Mohale said the shale levels they intended to frack were typically 2 500 m to 4 000 m underground. Groundwater aquifers are typically no less than 500 m deep. Shell believes the massive amount of rock between the two levels would act as a natural barrier, “˜But, categorically is a difficult word,’ said Mohale, “˜Never say never,’ he added.

Water is the biggest waste product in the fracking process. Petroleum Agency of South Africa (PASA) frontier geology manager Jennifer Marot said, “˜I believe “¦ that it is unlikely that groundwater would be contaminated by the fracturing process.’ Shell says that more than 50% of the water is recycled and could be purified for human and animal use. Mohale promises “˜not to compete with the people of the Karoo for their water needs.’

To the people of the Karoo, living in this uncertainty is unacceptable. Industrial magnate and long-time Karoo resident, Johann Rupert, has spoken against fracking without proper research. In the Afrikaans weekly, Rapport, Rupert said, “˜We are not against responsible exploration or extraction; we are against Russian roulette’. On 5 April 2011 the Treasure the Karoo Action Group (TKAG) delivered a report to President Zuma’s office requesting an immediate halt on actions granting Shell exploration rights. The TKAG spokesman and renowned environmentalist Lewis Pugh, cited that water scarcity, water quality and public health are the chief reasons to call a moratorium on fracking. He asked the president to wait until the release of further reports on fracking’s social, economic and environmental impacts before allowing them to continue. The environmental group also claims that Shell’s application for fracking is “˜inconsistent with South Africa’s Constitution’ and that there are “˜uncertainties, unknowns and gaps in information that pose unacceptable risks to water resources in a water-stressed region, and to the health of both communities and eco-systems.’ The TKAG say that “˜the exploration could endanger what could be the Karoo’s most precious commodity – ground water.’

PASA will study Golder’s EMP and will make a decision on granting Shell exploration rights on 12 August 2011. If everything goes according to Shell’s plan, exploration drilling will start in the latter part of 2012, with fracturing starting in 2013. In the EMP Shell has committed to “˜full compensation to any landowner with documented direct negative impact or loss on their land as a result of our activities’.

Please join the discussion and express your opinion about hydraulic fracturing in the Great Karoo by contacting:

PetroSA

Department of Water and Environmental Affairs

Treasure the Karoo Action Group

and watch Lewis Hugh’s speech against fracking in the Karoo

and read Time article Could Shale Gas Power the World by Bryan Walsh