据国外媒体5月9日开普敦报道,由于能源公司在油价波动以及颁发许可证延迟以后需要重新考虑投资,南非将在6月前宣布页岩气勘探的最终法规。南非政府在两年前就公布了页岩气勘探规则草案。
3月份,荷兰皇家壳牌公司曾表示,该公司将退出其在南非半干旱卡鲁地区的页岩项目。南非卡鲁地区被认为拥有390万亿立方英尺在技术上可采的页岩气储量。
南非矿产资源部长Ngoako Ramatlhodi在向议会发表其预算演讲前对采访他的媒体记者说:“我们已经确定了有关规则,这些最终法规将在一个月内对外宣布。”
壳牌公司已申请探区面积超过95000平方公里的勘探许可证,这个面积几乎占到卡鲁地区的四分之一。
壳牌公司委托进行的一项研究结果显示,开采50万亿立方英尺(占潜在储量的12.8%)页岩气将在今后的25年里每年为南非的经济增加200亿美元或占GDP 0.5%的收入,并创造70万个就业机会。
除了壳牌公司,Falcom油气公司与雪佛龙公司合作以及Bundu天然气公司都已向南非政府申请了页岩气勘探许可证。
李峻 编译
原文如下:
South Africa Prepares To Give Shale Gas Go Ahead
CAPE TOWN, May 7 (Reuters) - South Africa will gazette final regulations for shale gas exploration by June, two years after releasing draft rules and as companies reconsider investments due to volatile oil prices and delays in awarding licenses.
In March, Royal Dutch Shell said it was pulling back from its shale projects in South Africa's semi-arid Karoo region which is believed to hold up to 390 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable reserves.
"We have finalised the regulations... It would be gazetted in a month's time," Ngoako Ramatlhodi, minister of mineral resources, told reporters before his budget speech to parliament.
Shell had applied for an exploration license covering more than 95,000 square km, almost a quarter of the Karoo.
A study commissioned by the company said extracting 50 trillion cubic feet or 12.8 percent of potential reserves, would add $20 billion or 0.5 percent of GDP to the South African economy every year for 25 years and create 700,000 jobs.
Besides Shell, Falcon Oil and Gas in partnership with Chevron, and Bundu Gas have applied for exploration licenses