"Shale gas will contribute significantly to economy" Minister

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 Mineral Resources Minister, Susan Shabangu, says petroleum exploration and exploitation, including shale gas, will contribute significantly to the economy.

Shabangu was speaking on the outcomes of Cabinet's regular fortnightly meeting in Pretoria where the executive approved the gazetting of the technical regulations on petroleum exploration and exploitation.

The proposed regulations prescribed good international petroleum industry practices and standards, which enhanced safe exploration and production of all petroleum, including but not limited to shale gas. It would further ensure that petroleum exploration was conducted in a socially and environmentally balanced manner.

Minister Shabangu says the regulations will be gazetted for 30 days for public comment.

She said one of the key findings of technical task team set up to investigate the feasibility of shale gas exploration recommended that there was a need to ensure that the country's regulatory framework was robust enough to ensure that if hydraulic fracturing associated with shale gas exploration and exploitation was approved, any negative impact would be mitigated.