AfriForum and the Treasure the Karoo Action Group (TKAG) have made an urgent plea to South Africans to stand together against the government’s “rush” to exploit natural gas through fracking.
This follows after the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) gave Rhino Oil and Gas, Inc., an American company, environmental permission to sink 40 exploratory boreholes in a large part of the Northern and Western Free State.
AfriForum and the TKAG describe the permission for the sinking of the boreholes by Minister Gwede Mantashe’s department as “irresponsible”.
The exploration area covers about 753 797 ha and consists mainly of private land in the vicinity of Bothaville, Wesselsbron, Viljoenskroon, Odendaalsrus, Welkom, Wolmaransstad, Bultfontein, Koppies and Heilbron.
Rhino Oil and Gas has indicated the company is interested in exploring for helium, hydrogen, oil, and gas in the area.
“Rhino Oil and Gas has declared that it will not use fracking during the exploration phase,” says Lambert de Klerk, manager of environmental affairs at AfriForum, about the developments.
“However, once commercially viable reserves are found, borehole stimulation will likely be necessary and include fracking. It is a big source of concern for us.”
The Goldfields area is notorious for its earthquakes, here is a brief history of some of the noteworthy earthquakes in the area since 1976.
- On 8 December 1976, the Tempest Court in Welkom collapsed after an event measuring 5,2 on the Richter Scale. No one was injured or killed when the entire block of flats came down.
- In January 1989, two people died and four were injured at the President Brand Gold Mine in Welkom after an earthquake measured 4,5 on the Richter Scale. Major structural damage all over the region was reported. Vista’s headline read: “Skudding – The day time stood still.”
In fact, many people who were in the Liberty Centre at the time of the shaking thought a bomb had exploded.
- On 27 July 1994, a quake measuring 4,3 again caused time to stand still when the hefty tremor not only did extensive damage to the CBD and surrounds, but brought the time piece in the Clock Tower to a standstill.
- From October to December 1994, nine quakes measuring from 2,5 to 4,5 were recorded.
- In 1995, from April to December, nine quakes measuring 2,0 to 4,2 shook Welkom.
- In December 1996, two quakes measuring 3,8 and 4,3 were recorded.
- In July 1997, two 4,2-magnitude quakes were recorded.
- On Friday, 23 April 1999, the second quake in 23 years measuring 4,8 on the scale struck Welkom. The tremors of this quake were felt as far as Los Angeles in America. It caused extensive damage to buildings in Welkom.
- In 2009 Vista reported that the Council for Geoscience (CGS) had measured no less than 161 tremors since January of that year. The smallest was 0,6 (17 February) and the largest 3,8 (28 August) on the Richter local magnitude.
- In March 2009 a quake measuring 3,5 was recorded, and then on Tuesday, 27 October 2009, another quake measuring 3,5 Local Richter shook Welkomites.
Of the 161 tremors in 2009, there were 112 quakes measuring from 1,0 to 2,0 on the local scale, 39 between 2,0 and 3,0, and five measuring more than 3,0. The largest quake was recorded at 3,8.
- On Tuesday, 7 August 2014, at exactly 12:22, 90 seconds felt like a lifetime when the ripple effects of an earthquake measuring 5,5 on the Richter scale rattled through the Goldfields. The epicentre of the quake was 6 km east of Orkney in the North-West, and occurred 10 km underground. In the Goldfields only isolated incidents of damage were reported and there were no injuries. Residents of every town in this area felt the quake. It was widespread and was even felt as far north as Botswana. Down south residents of Bloemfontein, Kimberley, and Kuruman reported to have felt the quake.
- On Tuesday, 28 November 2017, at about 07:20, an earthquake measuring 3,1 on the Richter scale rattled through Welkom, scaring residents in St Helena, Flamingo Park, Jim Fouché Park, and Seemeeu Park. On Facebook, residents from as far as Odendaalsrus and Virginia said they too had experienced the tremor. People in Welkom felt the earth shake for about six seconds and windows and furniture rattled.
- On 22 March 2019 at about 02:30, an earthquake measuring 4,1 on the scale struck between Welkom and Virginia. An aftershock measuring 2,6 on the scale followed at 06:52. The epicentre was at a depth of 2 km underground, says Ian Saunders of the South African Council for Geoscience. This was the first noteworthy quake since 2014, and was felt as far as Hennenman, Theunissen, Virginia, Odendaalsrus, Riebeeckstad, and Welkom. – Marti Will
Jonathan Deal of the TKAG says that because the Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS) proposed regulations for fracking and related activities – which pose a threat to groundwater resources – are in the draft phase, groundwater baseline studies, which are required before drilling can be carried out, are most likely not to take place.
The environmental consultant, SLR Consulting, indicated in its environmental study that the company will not have to apply for a water license because it will “simply” sink boreholes.
“It is of crucial importance that groundwater studies are conducted to prove or disprove the possibility of groundwater contamination due to drilling activities,” says Deal.
“It is a very serious matter, because once the first dominoes fall due to fracking, it will become increasingly difficult to stop the process.”
De Klerk says the civil rights organisation calls on the public “to consider the fundamental threat this authorisation poses to our constitutional environmental right and to file an appeal against it with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE)”.
“The affected landowners should seek legal advice and contact their relevant agricultural organisations for support and guidance.”
- De Bron,
- Dagbreek,
- Arrarat,
- Uitkyk,
- Erfdeel,
- Homestead,
- Border,
- Rheederspan,
- Stuirmanspan,
- Merriespruit,
- Virginia,
- Saaiplaas,
- Wesselia, and
- Brand – Marti Will
Makhotla Sefuli of the South African Water Caucus in the Free State says they were “bitterly dissatisfied” with this permission.
Sefuli says that the sinking of these boreholes will seriously harm agriculture in the Northern Free State and that Rhino Oil and Gas did not properly consult with all the stakeholders.
The deadline for people who want to appeal against the approval is 27 August at appeal@dffe.go.za.
- In February 2022, an application to explore for gas on more than 6 000 farms in KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State was withdrawn by Rhino Oil after years of resistance from affected farming communities.
- Fracking creates vast amounts of wastewater, emits greenhouse gases such as methane, releases toxic air pollutants, and generates noise.
- Studies have shown these gas and oil operations can lead to loss of animal and plant habitats, species decline, migratory disruptions, and land degradation.
Earthquakes threaten to be a show-stopper for fracking. In the Netherlands, the largest gas field in Europe will be shut down by 2030 after sustained damage to homes from earthquakes became too severe. In Oklahoma, America, officials have severely curtailed operations after an injection of waste water underground caused several earthquakes above magnitude five – one nearly 180 000 times stronger than the 2.3 magnitude earthquake that brought a seven-year pause on fracking in the United Kingdom.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for shale gas has been a major concern for people in the United Kingdom since the first site to open, at Preese Hall, Lancashire, caused two earthquakes in 2011 that were strong enough for humans to feel. With local magnitude scales (ML) of 2.3 and 1.5, these earthquakes were subsequently linked to the reactivation of a previously unknown natural geological fault.
Fracking was temporarily banned but after a seven-year hiatus it resumed in October 2018 at a new site at Preston New Road in Lancashire, North West England. Three days later the British Geological Survey (BGS) began to detect earthquakes related to the site on their local seismic network.
Fracking works by fracturing underground shale rock, which creates pathways along which trapped gas in the shale can be extracted. Because earthquakes occur when rock breaks, fracking is, by design, intended to bring about the very process which results in earthquakes. However, the depth of fracking operations, about 2 km underground at the Preston New Road site, means that they are too small to be felt by humans.
On the other hand, larger earthquakes with magnitudes of ML 0.5 or greater probably indicate that natural pre-existing geological faults have been reactivated, releasing stress already stored in the shale. The result can be earthquakes large enough to be felt by humans. – The Conversation (https://theconversation.com/fracking-causes-earthquakes-by-design-can-regulation-keep-up-106183)
