Skip to main content

African Development Bank reports significant opportunities of shale gas production in Africa



 17th-10-2013
Several African countries have potentially viable shale gas deposits, which, if developed, could lead to lower gas prices, increased consumption of natural gas, reduced greenhouse gas emissions from power generation and substantial economic benefits to producer countries, find a report launched today by the African Development Bank (AfDB). Shale Gas and its Implications for Africa and the African Development Bank, examines both the positive and cautionary lessons that Africa can learn from the “shale gas revolution” – the recent explosion of shale gas production in the United States.
 The authors also conclude that the development and production of shale gas can present substantial environmental challenges. These include the large amounts of water required for extraction, water contamination, increased seismic activity and the venting and flaring of associated gas. Governments and the public must consider the most advantageous way to proceed before embarking on the full development of the resource, they stressed.
“The African Development Bank is encouraged by the study’s findings in terms of the economic promise that new shale gas extraction techniques could hold for the region. At the same time, we cannot stress enough how important it is that production is accompanied by good environmental planning and management,” said Kurt Lonsway, African Development Bank manager of environment and climate change in the Energy, Environment and Climate Change Department.
Shale Gas and its Implications reviews estimates that have been made for shale gas deposits in Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, Mauritania, South Africa and the Western Sahara and highlights the challenges to their development. In a foreword to the report, AfDB President Donald Kaberuka, affirms the Bank’s willingness to support these and any other member countries and sub-regions that have shale gas prospects.
Indeed, the study’s authors call for an “honest broker” role for the AfDB moving forward. The AfDB should work to ensure that governments with possible shale reserves are well informed and have access to reliable information on possible environmental consequences. This includes understanding possible solutions to these challenges, as well as grasping the legislative and regulatory actions needed to minimize risk.
AfDB support could also come in the form of technical assistance loans and, in some cases, through the financing of infrastructure associated with shale gas development.
To better understand the shale gas revolution’s relevance for African countries, the study also looks at the experience in the United States, where by 2012 production amounted to one-third of the country’s total gas output and where increased supplies of gas from shale have cut spot gas prices by more than half.
The physical difference between shale and conventional gas is the location of the resource in rock formations. The low permeability of shale and its tendency to run in horizontal layers mean that conventional drilling techniques with a vertical well are unable to recover commercially viable amounts of shale gas.
 To overcome this difficulty, an approach using hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling has been developed. This approach, however, brings consequences not found using conventional gas exploitation techniques.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

DEFENDING THE DEFENDERS: ZAMZAM DARES DEATH TO FIGHT FOR DARFUR’S FORGOTTEN LIVES

  By Nankwanga Eunice Kasirye A Mother Caught in Endless Conflict ZA mZam Mohammed Khater is not just a journalist; she is a relentless warrior against the shadows of war that have plagued Darfur for over two decades. At 38, she is a single mother of two—a 14-year-old son and an 18-year-old daughter—trapped in a land where fear dictates every sunrise and sorrow lingers in the air like an unshakable curse. Zamzam inspects one of the homes burnt down in 2019  She has seen the unspeakable. Massacres that leave villages lifeless, women brutalized beyond recognition, children reduced to silent witnesses of carnage. She has fled through the darkness, gripping her children’s hands as gunfire echoed behind them, the night air thick with terror. And yet, through it all, she dares to dream. " I dream of a Sudan where my children wake up to the sound of birds, not bombs. Where a mother can send her daughter to school without fearing she may never return." — ZamZam, her voice trem...

DEFENDING THE DEFENDERS:YVONNE MOKA'S CHILLING EXPERIENCE WHILE REPORTING VAWG

By Nankwanga Eunice Kasirye  Yvonne Moka never imagined that reporting on femicide and violence against women and girls (VAWG) would mean reliving her own nightmares. Each story she tells is not just a battle for justice but also a fight for her own sanity. In a chilling interview, she reveals the haunting weight of being both a journalist and a survivor. Yvonne Moka’s Fight for Justice Begins with a Tear-Stained Story Yvonne Moka, a passionate social justice journalist from Botswana, never anticipated that her first major social justice story would be the one that shattered her heart. "My home girl, we grew up together. We shared everything—church, music, village life. She was like my sister. When I left for university, she stayed behind. Over time, she began dating a gangster from the village, and I was not pleased," Moka recalls. "But she made her choices. Then, one fateful day, I received a call from her neighbor: ‘She’s dead. The boyfriend has killed her.’"...

DEFENDING THE DEFENDERS: TURNING THE MICROPHONE TO FEMALE JOURNALISTS REPORTING VAWG

By Nankwanga Eunice Kasirye  Female journalists covering violence against women and girls are not just exposing injustice—they are risking their own safety. The very violence they report on is the same violence that threatens them. According to the United Nations, 85,000 women and girls were intentionally killed in 2023, with 51,100 murdered by an intimate partner or family member. This translates to 140 women and girls killed daily—one every ten minutes. Additionally, 736 million women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in their lives, with 30% of women aged 15 and older reporting such experiences. Beyond physical violence, female journalists frequently face sexual harassment, cyber threats, and targeted attacks. A 2022 UNESCO report revealed that 73% of women journalists globally have experienced online violence, with 20% facing real-world attacks linked to their work. These threats not only compromise their safety but also have severe psycho...