Shale gas could transform Africa into a power giant. It can
provide the continent’s energy requirement now and for the longterm. Edson
Charikinya looks at how this form of energy can keep the light on for a long
time to come, in addition to the environmental opposition to this known
hydrocarbon energy form.
Earlier this month India experienced a two-day power blackout that made international headlines. The blackout affected 600 million of India’s 1.2 billion people. It put back into focus the growing energy challenges that economic growth in developing countries brings. Africa, when compared to the rest of the developed world, is in a perpetual state of blackouts. In recent years improvements in shale gas – natural gas-capturing technology – has led many to believe that this form of energy could be a potential game-changer in lowering the costs of access to energy. Preliminary studies show that most African countries have enough natural (shale) gas reserves to meet their growing energy needs. Natural gas holds greater promise of positively transforming the lives of many African people.
At present 95%
of sub-Saharan Africa’s households rely on traditional energy sources such as
wood for heating and cooking. In East Africa, 40% of the urban households have
access to electricity compared with 5% rural households. The continent has as an electrification rate
of 30%,
with only 14%
of rural households having access to electricity. The quality of electricity
supply is also not desirable, with blackouts and brownout being a common
occurrence in many parts of Africa such that they never capture international
headlines like in India’s case. There
are nearly 580
million people in Africa without access to electricity; this constitutes close
to half of the continent’s population. These figures are quiet disappointing
considering Africa has plenty of natural energy resources.
Despite possessing 10% of proven oil and natural gas
reserves, the continent suffers from severe energy poverty. Little has been
done in the way of investing in Africa’s electrical generation capacity. Recent
increases in industrial activity on the continent have not been matched by
greater investments in electricity generation in most countries. Industrial use
of electricity has been given greater priority over household use. This has led
to an increased blackouts as well as people relying on traditional energy
sources for fuel.
 |
| World Reserves of Shale Gas, 2011 (Africa's reserves have yet to be properly quantified). |
South Africa alone is estimated to have 485 trillion cubic
feet of shale gas. At its current oil consumption rate, these shale gas
reserves amount to 400 years worth of equivalent oil. It is most likely that
many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa are sitting on similar amounts of
reserves. The high exploration cost of quantifying shale gas reserves has meant
that reliable estimates of Africa’s total shale gas reserves are yet to be
quantified.
Though, there is strong preliminary evidence to suggest that
Africa
has considerable shale gas reserves. Shale gas offers a cheaper and more
modern alternative energy cooking source for many African households as well as
potential for increasing Africa’s power generation capacity.
Despite the many potential benefits Africa stands to gain
from exploiting its shale gas reserves there are still many environmental
activists strongly against continued exploitation of fossil fuels, shale gas
included. The opposition – environmental activists, for the most part – would
like to see Africa’s energy drive focussing more on renewable energy sources
such as solar, hydropower electricity generation and wind. They argue that at
present Africa’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is relatively small.
A boom in shale gas capture and use on the continent will change all this and
will do little to aid the fight on global warming. Others have expressed reservations
on the fracking methods employed to capture shale gas, warning that shale
gas fracking could result in pollution of precious underground water reserves.
While the world explores the use of greener energy alternatives, shale gas
could act as the bridge fuel towards finding more sustainable,
environmentally-friendly energy options.
The reality is that Africa stands to benefit more from
having access to a large supply of inexpensive, clean domestic source of
energy. It will take a number of years and greater investments in research
until renewable energy becomes a viable option for meeting both the industrial
and household energy needs of Africa’s population. Current indications are that coal and natural
gas are going to continue being the major source of global energy for some
time. Africa should therefore look into exploiting its shale gas reserves in
order to meet its growing energy demands.
Edson Charikinya is a Zimbabwean born Chemical Engineer based in South Africa. He is the founder and Operations Director of Innovartis Technology Systems, a Pan-African technology group delivering technology solutions and services to African communities and small-to-medium sized enterprises. He holds an MSc in Chemical Engineering and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Stellenbosch.
Your comments and feedback are much appreciated. To engage in further discussion with the editors and contributors of the blog on this topic and other related topics, follow us on twitter @SEADiaspora and/or leave a comment below.
Edson Charikinya is a Zimbabwean born Chemical Engineer based in South Africa. He is the founder and Operations Director of Innovartis Technology Systems, a Pan-African technology group delivering technology solutions and services to African communities and small-to-medium sized enterprises. He holds an MSc in Chemical Engineering and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Stellenbosch.
Your comments and feedback are much appreciated. To engage in further discussion with the editors and contributors of the blog on this topic and other related topics, follow us on twitter @SEADiaspora and/or leave a comment below.