Exploring the Karoo
South Africa is facing an energy crisis.
Its burgeoning population is making demand for energy soar.
And yet in a country of more than 50-million people,
some eight-million have no access to electricity.
By 2030, the South African Government wants that dramatically changed.
With 90% of the country's power still generated by coal,
South Africa is looking for a cleaner energy source.
And the answer could be just inland from Cape Town,
in the vast area of the Karoo.
Scientists believe that beneath this semi-arid land
lies a huge reservoir of shale gas.
But opinion is divided on whether that gas
should ever be touched.
The Karoo was made over millions of years
and you're going to mess it up in one day.
If it gets polluted, what happens then?
Those who don't have anything,
they want this project so much.
Gheneez Munian from Shell's Cape Town headquarters
is exploring the prospect of drilling for natural gas in the Karoo.
We're going to have a serious problem in the future,
if we do not find alternative ways of creating energy
and if shale gas is there and it's accessible
and it's commercially viable to actually extract,
it's definitely something that could be a game-changer in South Africa.
The only way to access the gas
is through hydraulic fracturing
or fracking, an advanced drilling technique
that extracts gas that's trapped between different layers of rock.
A mix of water, sand and about 1% of chemicals
is pumped through the well,
fracturing the rock and releasing the gas.
Shale gas could supply much of South Africa's clean energy needs
for decades to come.
But the proposals are proving highly controversial.
Fracking no! Fracking never!
The South African Government recently lifted a moratorium
on applications to frack.
Now Shell and three other companies have applied for licences
to explore for the gas.
There is widespread fear
that drilling could contaminate water supplies.
The Karoo's farming community is particularly concerned.
- How are you? - Hi. I'm well, thanks. Yourself?
- My son. - How are you, sir? Hello.
A dedicated Shell team has come to the Karoo
to better inform the locals and try to allay concerns.
- Meet Charmaine. - Hello.
- Good morning. - And Vuysile.
Three of the team grew up in the area,
so know it well.
She's the Community Liaison Officer based here.
Like other farmers, Izak Grobbelaar is dependent on underground water
for both his farming and domestic needs.
We're extremely reliant
on our underwater aquifers.
Without that, we will be dead.
It's a semi-desert area
and it's really not farmable, at all,
if we don't have underwater reservoirs to tap from.
For Izak, clean water is vital.
Being without it is not something he wants to risk.
If our water gets polluted, I mean...
How long can an animal survive without water?
You're worried about disaster situations.
We are forced, actually,
to have those disaster management plans in place,
even before the processes start.
That would assist
in the event of any mishap
and maybe at a later stage we could talk again,
as to whether concerns were addressed
and what is there that still needs to be addressed.
South Africa needs all the sources of energy.
Shale gas is part of that.
It produces much fewer emissions than, for example, coal would.
Karoo-born Vuysile Zenani
wants the local communities
to understand the positive social benefits Shell could bring.
Before we actually come to this area,
we do what is known as "social scanning".
Understanding the area as it is right now
before we can even do anything in this area.
We're looking at issues of education resources, health resources,
sicknesses in this area, employment, unemployment,
population dynamics and all of that.
These outreach meetings at remote farms take time,
but they are having a positive effect.
The team has explained that the gas is trapped far below the water table
in shale beds 2km down.
Izak's water supply should not be affected in any way.
I was much more concerned
and was much more worried about it
when I heard it first.
As time has gone on and we learnt more about it,
I mean, I'm still not at ease,
but I feel, you know, you've got some information
and that's better.
The Shell team moves on to visit more farmers.
Winning public opinion is an enormous task for them.
The main challenge is the fear of the unknown
and, as well, they are concerned
about the contamination of the water aquifer,
and, as well, you look at the chemicals,
which will be used for the project.
It's about developing the relationships and getting out
to the landowners, to the farmers, to the people who are affected,
the employed, the unemployed,
and talking and talking and talking.
So, can we achieve it all in a couple of months?
Absolutely not.
It's going to take quite a lot more.
The team also holds public meetings
to ensure local communities are kept updated
and to give them a chance to air their views.
If there's an earthquake...
Up in Augrabies, there are regular small earthquakes,
but what will those do to the integrity of the cement casing?
The standard protocol
is shut down operation.
This is standard across Shell globally.
Shut down operation,
test the integrity of the well.
If you cannot ensure
that the well integrity is 100% the way you designed it to be,
then you start mechanisms to then rectify that.
We like to mitigate against all those potential risks
and have safety plans in place.
We won't walk away from the responsibility.
Despite the team's assurances,
at any social gathering, fracking remains a hot topic.
I have been to, you know, some of the public meetings
and, obviously, they've got
their best spin doctors there,
but when the geologists have actually been asked the critical question,
"Can you assure us that it's 100% safe?"
they say no.
That is the main worry and that life is going to change,
you know, for us in the Karoo.
You know, it's been a long-standing way of life.
For these farmers, the issue is personal.
Billions of rand would be injected into the economy,
creating thousands of jobs,
but finance is not these farmers' main concern.
My concern is my children.
Did I mess up their future
or did I protect their future?
Because we have got such a wonderful way of life here,
money is important,
but it's not the most important thing to us.
But to many in the Karoo,
the view on fracking is markedly different.
The majority of the population here is poor.
Some work as farm labourers,
but most live in urban townships where unemployment is as high as 80%.
Community leaders are excited
about the economic investment Shell would bring.
We needed an injection
that would come,
because Shell is not only coming with the money,
but it's bringing in
a lot of other expertise
and all of that can work to our advantage.
From listening to communities,
those who don't have anything,
they want this project so much.
We can have young people, skilled,
and later taking on learnerships
and internships with Shell on this project
and also to develop a skills level.
If Shell is granted a licence to explore for gas in the Karoo,
operations won't begin
until rigorous environmental assessments are complete.
It's a long process.
Ongoing dialogue with local communities will be crucial.
Generating South Africa's electricity using gas
would omit half the amount of carbon dioxide
than generating it with coal.
And Shell's safety record on extracting shale gas is good.
It encases its drill pipes securely
and makes every effort to ensure water contamination
does not occur.
We need to be cautious
and we need to apply those vigorous safety principles
to ensure that we can maintain that track record.
There isn't a reason why we shouldn't maintain that going forward.
Questions about safety far outnumber any other asked
of Shell's team in the Karoo.
For Claude Vanqa, a strong safety record
is vital.
Shell is really pedantic about safety.
If Shell was not concerned about safety,
I was not going to take this role at all.
In Africa, people talk about a big change,
a big job and how do you achieve it?
This is a marathon. It is not a sprint.
A lot of ground has been covered
and the team heads for home,
but this is a journey, which has a long way to run.
It requires a great deal of energy.
In the end, that's exactly what they hope it will bring.