Possible Wastewater Volumes Associated With Unconventional Oil And Gas Extraction In South Africa And The Management Thereof

Several oil and gas companies have applied for licenses to extract unconventional oil and gas (UOG) resources in South Africa (SA) through a process known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking. The South African government is in the process of drafting regulations and procedures to allow the extraction of these resources. It is surmised, based on evidence from fracking examples around the world, that large volumes of wastewater may, however, potentially be generated during the extraction of these UOG resources. The issues arise when it comes to determining the actual volumes of wastewater that may be generated from this process, should it be used in SA, as well as the management of the wastewater. The volume of wastewater generated is dependent on a number of factors, with well properties, rock formation, basin properties and the number of fracturing stages within the well, being some of the dominant factors. In this project an extensive review of existing literature, reports and fracking databases was used to identify the methods used for determining wastewater volumes, which databases were used as well as the assumptions and challenges each data source faced. The data was analysed and interpreted in order to come up with various ranges and averages of wastewater generated through UOG extraction. The potential volumes of wastewater generated through fracking were then modelled into the hypothetical scenarios outlined in the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) on Shale Gas Development in the Central Karoo. This allowed for the determination of potential volumes of wastewater associated with UOG extraction in SA from which management implications for wastewater in South Africa can be determined.