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Cabinet has lifted a moratorium on shale gas exploration in the Karoo region.
Minister in the presidency, Collins Chabane, said on Friday that cabinet had endorsed the recommendation of a report by the Department of Minerals and Energy on the lifting of the moratorium imposed last April.
Shell South Africa, among others, is seeking an exploration license to drill for shale gas in the Karoo utilising the method known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking.
Opponents of fracking say its a risky process that could lead to the contamination of underground water sources.
Jonathan Deal of the Treasure the Karoo Action Group says they're not surprised by the cabinet decision.
" We are dissapointed that our country has taken this step. The signal that minister Shabangu would have liked to send is that South Africa is open for business. In my view, the signal that she has send is that our country has made a ill informed and rather hasty decision about the technology that is not wanted where tens of millions of people live in other places in the world" Deal said.
Deal say the lifting of the moratorium does not mean that drilling for shale gas will start immediately.
"It is still a process in terms of the government making a decision if they do so to issue exploration licences and even that does not guarantee the start of fracking in this country, because at that point myself and many other groups who are opposed of fracking would naturally use every legal resource that we have to make sure that the technology does not get started"
