For almost a year, Andrew Shapland of Tourism Corp Africa and Mark and Sarah Tompkins, owners of Samara Private Game Reserve, fought to fend off a shale gas exploration company. For almost a year, Andrew Shapland of Tourism Corp Africa and Mark and Sarah Tompkins, owners of Samara Private Game Reserve, fought to fend off a shale gas exploration company.They feared the company's activities would jeopardise the delicate ecological balance of the Karoo reserve.Last month Petroleum Agency SA notified them that Bundu Oil & Gas Exploration, owned by an Australian-listed company, Sunset Energy, had withdrawn its exploration application."Bundu's application was dropped, after a great deal of time, energy and good reasoning," Shapland says.Oil and gas companies are excited about the potential for extracting shale gas in SA. Shale is sedimentary rock which is both the source and a reservoir for natural gas.Environmentalists are less enthusiastic about the side effects of ...
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