The great shale debate in the Karoo

Abstract

Over the last year, rumours of vast cheap energy wealth stacked away beneath the Karoo have reached fever pitch.Apparently gas (methane -CH 4 ) from shale is there for the picking -and they're said to be rich pickings.The extraction industry believes that we all will benefit from this fortune if we harvest it soon: indeed, it has been presented as a proverbial win-win situation.Alas, nothing could be further from the truth.Firstly, it is not known with any degree of certainty how much gas may be beneath the Karoo, and secondly, if there is enough, it is also uncertain whether the gas can be tapped without damaging other subsurface resources, particularly scarce potable water reservoirs, or without full rehabilitation of inevitable surface damage around the gas taps (or well heads).