Audio available within article.

http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/18062010-on-the-air-2010-06-17

Every Friday morning, SAfm's AMLive's radio anchor Caesar Molebatsi speaks to Martin Creamer, publishing editor of Engineering News and Mining Weekly. Reported here is this Friday's At the Coalface transcript:

Molebatsi: The South African government has given Shell permission to drill for shale gas in the Karoo.

Creamer: Shale gas is the rage at the moment. The world is calling it the shale gale, because the Americans have actually found a way to get to this gas. There was an impediment before and there has been a technological breakthrough. We see that it has actually changed the gas equation in the United States.

It has gone from a constrained situation where there wasn't enough gas to one where there is an abundance of gas, which of course, has effected the price. Many others are now looking for this shale gas.

Among the companies doing it is Shell International and our South African government has given the permission now to drill in the Karoo Basin along with Falcon Oil and Gas, which is another company that has also got permission.