Frack! Gwede not only wants to nuke SA’s energy

As Minerals and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe searches for alternative energy sources to bolster a crippled Eskom, it’s becoming clear nothing is off the table, despite the plethora of green  energy sources waiting in the wings.

Mantashe on Monday told the International Atomic Energy Agency conference nuclear was still part of SA’s present and future energy package.

“Nuclear power will continue to play a vital role in South Africa’s energy mix,” Mantashe said.

“In addition to energy security, there is a bigger role for nuclear in clean energy initiatives, to transition us from high to low carbon emissions, while expanding our power sources at the same time.”

On Tuesday, the Council of Geoscience (CGS) trumpeted its launch of phase two of the Karoo Deep Drilling and Geo-environmental Baseline Project (KDD) in Beaufort West, Western Cape.

“The KDD is a geoscientific research project in the Karoo Basin by the CGS to conduct investigations aimed at developing a geo-environmental baseline model,” CGS CEO Mosa Mabuza said.

“The research’s focus is aimed at assessing the potential environmental impacts that could be brought about by the shale gas development in the Karoo.”

The KDD – announced in 2016 and mandated by the department of minerals resources and energy aiming to provide scientific evidence to inform policy development and regulatory framework on shale gas exploration and extraction – came after the halting of an attempt in 2015 by Shell, Falcon Oil & Gas from Canada, along with its American partner, Chevron, and Challenger Energy (also called Bundu) from Australia by Treasure the Karoo Action Group (TKAG).

Last year, Mantashe was given a bloody nose by the Supreme Court of Appeal when he tried to make regulations around fracking which he wasn’t empowered to do. The Stern Family Trust and TKAG, together with AfriForum, stopped that, too.

TKAG chair Jonathan Deal, said the organisation had not been informed of the latest developments.

Part of the issue would be a large amount of development in the pristine, water-scarce farmlands surrounding Beaufort West and that the department would be building kilometres of aboveground pipelines to carry the gas to distribution centres.

Deal said in terms of the procedures, there was still a lot of information missing on how the drilling operation would be managed.

“That operation needs to be managed the same way oil and gas regulation envisage they should be handled – which don’t exist because of our SCA appeal, which instructed the minister to redo the regulations,” Deal said.

Mabuza said the drilling was “seen as a possible game-changer for the Karoo region and the South African economy”.

He said of the drilling of five 169m wells during the KDD Project’s first stage in 2017, two could yield up to 33 million litres a month of “good groundwater”.

“The official handover of the boreholes took place on 13 February 2018 and, to date, the municipality has pumped and distributed 397 million litres to the people of Beaufort West,” Mabuza said.

How fracking works:

The fracking process

In the Karoo Basin, hydraulic fracturing for shale gas would first involve deep vertical drilling into the shale rock layer.

The drilling would intersect various layers and may cause the linking of multiple isolated hydrogeological systems. Once the shale rock layer is reached, horizontal drilling takes place for up to 2,500m.

The purpose is to maximise contact with the shale gas pores in the layer. The contact between the drilled wells and the pores must, however, be enhanced artificially. This is done by pumping a mixture of water (99% to 99.5%) and chemicals (0.5% to 1%) into the well at high pressure. This process fractures the shale rock layer.

The over-pressurised water opens the fractures to gain access to as many pores as possible. Once the pressure is reduced, the water, mixed with heavy or radioactive metals from the rock formation,  reflows to the surface, together with the shale gas.

– Minister of Mineral Resources v Stern and Others, 2019

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