When it comes to boosting South Africa’s economy — which is in the doldrums and expected to grow by only about 1% this year, according to various analysts — we need to consider the benefits of other energy sources in creating jobs and reducing energy costs, while ensuring projects are environmentally sound.
Socioeconomic issues need to be balanced with the search for new energy sources, especially oil and gas. South Africa’s joblessness rate is hovering at about a third of all those of employable age. Inflation — with energy being a large driver of higher prices — is at 5.3%, and load-shedding, based on recent media reports, has been halted only thanks to Eskom burning through large amounts of diesel, though both the state-run utility and power regulators have denied this.
However, weighing these vital needs against environmental concerns must be done carefully. We need to accept that industrial development is crucial for our country’s economic growth and social wellbeing, and it includes generating revenue and creating job opportunities for the poor. Private sector investments can make a huge difference when it comes to creating jobs.
According to a 2017 American Petroleum Institute report, the oil and natural gas industry supports 10.3-million jobs in the US — a 500,000 increase since 2011. It projects that the industry will support another 1.9-million jobs by 2035. In South Africa, through developing just the Karoo shale gas project, 700,000 jobs could be created, resulting in a R200bn contribution to GDP, according to an Econometrix report.
NGOs do not take into account fracking’s huge potential for job creation, which is not limited to direct jobs, but could also extend to creating opportunities for entrepreneurs to open their own businesses, such as spaza shops.
South Africa is one of the most undermined, underdeveloped and underexplored countries in the world, despite years of mining. Locally, we haven’t even scratched the surface in this country, and there are so many more opportunities. At the same time, we have the engineering expertise to undertake these projects, as well as the requisite professional services and skills.
However, the need for job creation through new power sources is at odds with environmental activism in opposition to the oil and gas sector. Total’s plans to pull fuel sources out of the ground through fracking is a good example.
Its plan to drill several holes to explore the potential for shale gas as a power source is being opposed by various lobby groups. The activists argue, not without merit, that drilling for oil and gas in various areas could harm the environment, including marine biodiversity.
The Treasure Karoo Action Group, along with other environmental lobby groups, went to parliament in May 2016 to ask that stringent regulations governing fracking be implemented. Environmental concerns are being taken into account by energy companies.
When TotalEnergies and its partners were granted permission to drill off the Cape coast, environment minister Barbara Creecy said she was happy that environmental concerns about noise and light had been addressed. However, this project has been delayed as lobby groups seek to have the licence set aside.
One research paper published in 2020 found there can be little to no impact on air quality, soils, groundwater and waterways from fracking. A three-year study in Queensland, Australia, carried out by the country’s Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance, noted that current water treatment technology used to treat aqua produced from coal seam gas wells has been successful in removing chemicals and naturally occurring (geogenic) chemicals to within relevant water-quality guidelines when fracking is done.
The research was undertaken in response to concerns expressed by the community about the potential for chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations to affect air quality, soils and water resources.
Data for the study came from air, water and soil samples taken before, during and up to six months after hydraulic fracturing operations at six coal seam gas wells in the Surat Basin in Queensland.
The study found the fracking had little to no impact on air quality, with the levels of most of the atmospheric air pollutants it detected generally being below relevant national air-quality targets.
Chemicals from hydraulic fracturing weren’t detected in water samples taken from nearby groundwater bores, soil samples from sites next to operational wells, or in water samples from a nearby creek.
While water produced from the wells straight after fracturing did contain some hydraulic fracturing chemicals (elevated concentrations of important ions (salts), ammonia, organic carbon, some metals and organic compounds), concentrations of these chemicals were reduced to pre-fracking levels within 40 days after proper water treatment.
The study also noted that some biocides used in hydraulic fracturing fluids and some geogenic chemicals had completely degraded in soil samples within two to three days after fracking had been completed.
Environmental concerns raised by lobby groups need to be taken into consideration, and they certainly provide a voice to concerned people. The environment is important. We need to reduce CO2 emissions across the globe as we seek to meet the UN target of Net Zero by 2050.
But, as a country, we need to be careful not to focus only on one aspect of fracking.
NGOs do not take into account fracking’s huge potential for job creation, which is not limited to direct jobs, but also extends to creating opportunities for entrepreneurs to open their own businesses, such as spaza shops.
At the same time, there will be a need for urban development around the project, which will create permanent jobs. We also cannot forget that people will have the opportunity to be upskilled. The benefits are enormous.
At Dentons, we advocate for climate justice, emphasising rational, middle-ground solutions tailored to the South African context, and avoiding extreme positions that overlook the realities of our unindustrialised society.
There is no reason there can’t be a balance between ensuring the environment is protected and creating jobs and desperately needed energy sources at cheaper costs.
• Kapdi is the chair of Dentons South Africa
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.