Business owners, environmental activists, farmers and rural dwellers have resoundingly rejected a proposal to explore for oil and gas in the Drakensberg, fearing it could lead to environmentally hazardous fracking activity across swathes of prime land in KZN and the Free State, says a report in The Mercury.

This is according to Rhino Oil and Gas Exploration SA’s findings during public hearings as recorded in a Scoping Report for its application to explore for oil and gas that was released for public comment on Friday. The public has until 11 February to submit comments regarding the application. Rhino Oil and Gas Exploration, a subsidiary of US-based Rhino Resources Ltd, lodged an application with the Petroleum Agency for an exploration right to search for potential sub-surface oil and gas deposits including, oil, gas, condensate, coal bed methane, helium and biogenic gas, over approximately 6 000 properties, last month.

The firm received approximately 400 written comment submissions during the public participation process.

‘The great majority of interested and affected parties are strongly opposed to all forms of oil and gas exploration, and to this application in particular. Overall, the public opposition makes for a very strong argument against the application and the process. It is evident that the primary driver of the opposition is concerns about future risks,’ the Scoping Report said.

Full report in The Mercury (subscription needed)

Scoping Report