Preliminary assessment of water-supply availability with regard to potential shale-gas development in the Karoo region of South Africa

South Africa is a country blessed with minerals, but without oil and conventional gas resources and with a shortage of energy, resulting in an energy import. During the period 1965 to 1975 Soekor (Pty) Ltd explored for oil and gas in the Karoo, a pristine semi-desert area in South Africa. Gas was found in the tight shale formations of the Ecca Supergroup, between 2 500 and 4 000 m below the surface. It has been calculated that the deposit may be as large as 35.3 TCM (or 485 Tcf as is the custom in the oil and gas industry to refer to the volume), and that the worst case scenario will be 1.1 TCM (which makes it the fifth largest deposit in the world). Exploration companies applied for exploration licences, but due to an uproar by environmental groups a moratorium was placed on any activities. The biggest issue, apart from environmental negatives, was the shortage of water resources. Is it possible to harvest enough water in the Karoo aquifers for this process? This paper will deal with the process of fracking (hydro-fracturing) and the different views in South Africa regarding the availability of water, how to deal with the dolerite and the other unknowns and the proposed way forward. The problem is that the unique geology (presence of dolerite dykes and sills) of South Africa makes case studies from other parts of the world worthless to a degree. Note: No scientific work has been done in South Africa regarding the groundwater issues during hydro-fracturing as yet, and most statements are based on observations made by the author during two study tours to different sites in the USA and interviews with relevant role-players. (TCM = Trillion Cubic Meter and TcF = Trillion cubic Feet)