A ​science action plan to help steer the South African shale gas industry will be considered at a national shale gas conference to be hosted by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology, in Port Elizabeth, later this week.
The conference follows the publication, in October 2016, of the ASSAf report on South Africa’s technical readiness to support the shale gas industry.

Dates: 31 August 2017 - 01 September 2017
Venue: Boardwalk Conference Centre, Port Elizabeth

In addition to the ASSAf report, the Department of Environmental Affairs’ report on shale gas development in the central Karoo will also be discussed. 
 
The objective of the conference is to showcase critical reports on shale gas in South Africa, analyse the regulatory environment, consolidate common findings and recommendations and provide a platform for debate.
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Mineral Resources Deputy Minister Godfrey Oliphant will on Tuesday host an information-sharing session with interested and affected communities and organisations in the Western Cape on the potential of shale gas development through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

The Deputy Minister will engage communities on the impact of shale gas development on water resources, the environment, and the economic potential to be derived from development of the resource.

The session will take place at the Rustdene sports ground, in Beaufort West.
After years of contention, Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane earlier this month took a decision to proceed with the development of shale gas in the country’s Karoo formation, “based on the balance of available scientific evidence”. 

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The South African government has launched a 24-month ‘strategic environmental assessment’ of shale gas in the Karoo Basin to better understand the potential environmental impact of extraction in the ecologically sensitive region.
The Departments of Environmental Affairs, Science and Technology, Energy, Water Affairs and Sanitation and Mineral Resources jointly announced the initiative this week.
Whilst the assessment will take two years, the Department of Mineral Resources has indicated that it would allow companies to undertake exploration work and is urging the cabinet to pass a legislative framework to allow this.
The assessment will include biodiversity and the ecosystem; water protection of both surface and groundwater; public health impacts; air pollution; noise and visual impacts; geology; economics; how shale fits into the national energy plan; management of waste and the impact on a ‘sense of place’.
Science and technology minister, Naledi Pandor said: “we believe that this will assist government to create a framework and guiding principles to inform responsible decision making.
“The Strategic Environmental Assessment will consider both exploration and production related activities and impacts of shale gas development, including the process of hydraulic fracturing, and will include an assessment of all material social, economic and biophysical risks and opportunities presented.”
The SEA will be led by Professor Bob Scholes from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR); Scholes stated that the study will include both opponents and supporters of fracking to ensure the process was “salient, legitimate and credible”.
Chief executive of the Treasure Karoo Action Group said he was “most encouraged” by the announcement and said it will “inject a crucial scientific dimension to the decision-making process and play a significant role in driving… the final decision in connection with fracking”.
Pandor ccontinued, “if indeed viable deposits are found in South Africa, shale gas, as a relatively lower carbon energy source, presents significant transformative potential for the South African economy.”
Environmental affairs minister Edna Molewa added, “South Africa, like most countries around the globe, is mindful of the need to seek alternative energy sources like shale gas.”

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JOHANNESBURG, Feb 24 (Reuters) - South Africa's Public Investment Corporation (PIC) is keen to invest in a domestic shale gas industry once it gets underway, its chief investment officer said on Monday.The intention to invest in shale gas by the PIC, which manages 1.4 trillion rand ($128 billion) of South African public employee retirement funds, is the latest signal of the government's commitment to developing a potential new supply of energy for Africa's largest economy.

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