(Ecofin Agency) - South Africa’s recoverable gas reserves from both onshore shale and offshore gas fields were seen at around 19.5 tcf, according to a senior energy official.

 “It requires significant evaluation activity, significant drilling for us to be able to quantify the gas more definitively and to also assess the economic case for the recovery of this gas,’’ Ompi Aphane (picture), Deputy Director General for Energy Policy  made this known at a gas conference in Cape Town adding that South Africa’s recoverable gas resources were seen at around 9 tcf offshore through conventional drilling.

He said there was also 9 tcf in shale in the Karoo, a vast semi-desert wilderness stretching across the heart of South Africa, out of a potential 120 tcf resource and around 1.5 tcf from coal bed methane.

The country is focusing on procuring 3,126 megawatts of power from gas between 2019 and 2025. This is to diversify its energy mix away from an over-reliance on coal-fired power plants providing around 90% of the country’s electricity needs.

South Africa, one of Africa’s most developed economies, is presently battling with electricity shortages that has curbed economic growth and plunged millions of houses into regular darkness.

This is because power utility Eskom manages the power grid by blacking out certain sectors.

Aphane stated that the government was currently focused on a liquefied natural gas (LNG) to power tender, with a series of projects anticipated, providing the opportunity for more than one location.

“We want to use gas to contribute to our near-term power needs which are significant,’’ Aphane told Businessday.