Many countries today, South Africa included, are looking for more eco‐friendly energy sources, and for several of them natural gas is the preferred choice. Shale gas is natural gas found in shale rock, and is derived from underground shale deposits that are broken up by hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the procedure of creating fractures in shale, coal‐bed and tight‐sand formations by injecting fluid (such as water, oil, or propane) into cracks to force them further open. This enlarges crevices which allow more oil and gas (methane) to flow out of the rock and into the well‐bore. From there, the gas can be extracted. Fractures can also exist naturally in formations, and both natural and man‐made fractures can be widened by fracking, resulting in the possibility of increased extraction of gas from a given area of land. The process of fracking has been a means of increasing well production since the late 1940s but it is only in the last ten years or so that technology has been developed to use the process in order to extract natural gas.1 Amid controversy due to a lack of public consultation, the government recently lifted a 17‐month moratorium on the issuing of licences for exploratory drilling to determine the amount shale gas reserves in the Karoo.

Report written by Palesa Siphuma
Researcher at the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO)