Gas exploration in the Karoo: DA wants moratorium on "fracking"

The proposal by Shell to explore for gas over 90 000 square kilometres of the South Western Karoo Basin is wholly premature, and should not be entertained by Petroleum Agency South Africa (PASA).  The Democratic Alliance (DA) is principally concerned about the process of hydraulic fracturing, also known as "fracking", which uses immense amounts of water, and has the potential to contaminate surrounding bodies of water with pollutants. 

The process is highly controversial and has been banned in several areas in the USA. The precautionary principle has to apply when considering any proposal that involves fracking, and for the moment we simply do not know enough about the deep geology of the Karoo, nor is it evident how the already water-stressed Karoo could provide the water for this thirsty activity. The rural livelihoods of people in certain parts of the Karoo could be made entirely unsustainable.

The DA believes that there should be a moratorium on any exploration or mining activity that involves "fracking". For this reason I have today written to the CEO of PASA , Mthozami Xiphu, asking him not to consider this application, or indeed any further applications, until a considerable peer-reviewed study into the geology of the Karoo Basin, and an independent assessment of available water resources, has been undertaken .  In addition, it would be prudent to wait for the outcome of the two-year study commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency in the USA, commissioned at the behest of the US Congress in 2010, into the relationship between fracking and the quality of drinking water.

Shell is currently consulting with Interested and Affected Parties, of which I am one, and is compiling an Environmental Management Plan. After this, PASA will consider whether to grant an exploration right for three years, which can be extended for up to six more years thereafter.

It is important to note that there are no government guidelines or policies on "fracking". This was confirmed by the Minister of Mineral Resources in reply to a DA parliamentary question last year. The Mineral and Petroleum Resource Development Act provides in general terms for an applicant to demonstrate its technical ability to conduct exploration in line with best industry practice. PASA is tasked with ensuring that operators have the required means, skills and understanding of any exploration activity. These provisions set off a number of alarm bells.  PASA has no experience of regulating "fracking" nor does it have more than a handful of environmental compliance officers. It cannot possibly at this stage leave it to Shell, or any other applicant, to demonstrate its technical abilities, when the Agency itself has no record of ever having regulated this activity.

When one considers that each fracking event uses at least 15 million litres of water; that each well can be fracked several times;  and that over the course of nine years hundreds of wells could be drilled, one gets a sense of how massive the Shell proposal is. If approved it would change the landscape of the Karoo forever.  On the issue of water, both in terms of use and the possible contamination of water, I addressed correspondence to the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs on 25 January 2011, asking her to familiarise herself with Shell's proposal.

The Department of Water's coordination with the Department of Mineral Resources over recent years has been pathetic to say the least, and on so many occasions in recent times, mining rights have been approved without due consideration of their impact on water resources. For this reason it is incumbent on the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs to use all opportunities available to her through cooperative governance structures to engage with PASA on this application. The Minister, who is the custodian of water in South Africa, would equally do well to advocate the precautionary principle.

Note to editors:  Gareth Morgan MP will be attending the consultation meeting with Shell this evening in Edgemead at 17:00.

Statement issued by Gareth Morgan MP, Democratic Alliance Shadow Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, February 1 2011

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