Shell Refuses To Guarantee Water Quality Post-Fracking; SA Farmers Deliver Resounding Boos

ANGRY residents of the Middleburg area have called for Shell to “get out the Karoo” after the company failed to guarantee the security of their water if fracking goes ahead. Addressing Shell representatives at a hall in Middelburg’s Grootfontein Agricultural College in a hall packed with farmers in T-shirts saying “Don’t Frack with our Karoo,” members of the audience asked repeatedly if the multi-national could “guarantee no risk to our water”.

Shell technical expert Tony Cortis eventually responded, “You can’t plan for every eventually” – and earned a howl of outrage in return.

The meeting was hosted by Shell and their consultant Golder Associates as part of the public participation process to discuss the draft environmental management plan (EMP). The report was prepared by Golder as part of Shell’s application to explore for shale gas in a 98000ha tract of the Karoo through the western, northern and eastern Cape.

At centre stage is hydraulic fracturing or fracking, the controversial method Shell says it will be using to extract the gas. Fracking uses up to six million litres of water for each well. Laced with chemicals and other corrosion additives, it is pumped down the drill shaft, then forced at great pressure through apertures in the shaft into the surrounding shale rock bed, which can lie up to 5km below the surface. The shale fractures and releases gas which travels back up a separate shaft to be harvested as a source of electricity.

EDIT

http://www.weekendpost.co.za/news/article/958

in the English language...I'm from a multinational corporation and I'm here to protect your interests.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karoo

and these are wonderful books:
http://www.librarything.com/work/1249441/covers/

http://www.sa-venues.com/game-reserves/ec_camdeboo-national-park.htm