South Africa Lifts Moratorium on Shale Gas Exploration

Bloomberg reported that South Africa has lifted its moratorium on the exploration of shale gas, natural gas that forms from being trapped in shale formations. The country banned hydraulic fracturing last year in order to study its environmental implications.

As quoted in the market news:

“We need to explore the possibilities of us having a resource of shale gas in the country in order to address our energy needs,” Collins Chabane, the minister in the presidency, said in an interview with Johannesburg’s eNCA television channel.

South Africa, an oil importer that’s threatened by power shortages, has about 485 trillion cubic feet of shale gas resources, according to a study by the U.S. Energy Information Administration that was published last year.

Click here to read the full Bloomberg report.