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Framework to assess the economic reality of shale gas in South Africa

“Unconventional gas” is being heralded by various commentators as a game-changer in global energy supply. The term refers to natural gas that is not readily available for extraction, requiring modification of the geological formations in which it is embedded, most commonly by hydraulic fracturing - high-volume, slick water hydraulic fracturing (HVSWHF, or “fracking”).
 
The environmental and social implications of shale-gas exploration and exploitation are the primary focus of public debate on the subject, but the question of whether or not shale gas is even a commercially viable source of energy for South Africa, is less frequently asked.
 
Shale-gas exploration and future exploitation in South Africa has been motivated by private firms and state agencies as a cheap source of energy in South Africa and a source of wealth for the oil and gas industry, landowners, local communities and government. However, such claims are based on the US and Canadian experience of shale gas, which is not necessarily commensurate with the South African context and conditions.
 
WWF’s report Framework to assess the economic reality of shale gas in South Africa attempts to frame the core economic issues relevant to extraction of shale resources and shale gas in the interests of providing a way to better assess the technology’s actual commercial viability in the local context.
 

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Framework to assess the economic reality of shale gas in South Africa

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