Abstract

Recent technological advancements and more advanced production techniques - especially in the field of hydraulic fracturing have led to the development of unconventional gas sources such as shale gas. Indeed, the exploitation of US shale gas has had such a significant economic impact on the global energy market that the International Energy Agency has referred to the rise of shale as the 'shale storm' and the 'second gas revolution.' With an estimated technical recovery amount of 390 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of shale gas found in the Karoo Basin in south-central South Africa, ...