Public meetings are being held in the area by Rhino Oil and Gas to gauge public comment on their proposal to conduct oil and gas exploration in the Northern KZN area.
A meeting will be held at the Dundee High School on Thursday from 2 pm while another is planned for at the Anniville Hall, Dannhauser, on Friday from 2 pm.
In their overview, Rhino Oil and Gas explained that their exploration rights application extends from Newcastle/Utrecht in the north west to Pongola in the north east and south to include Dundee/Wasbank, Dannhauser and as far as Melmoth.
The swathe of land includes nearly 5 500 farms and covers around 2-million hectares.
As previously published, there is a groundswell of opposition to the proposed exploration for fear that fracking techniques will be used to access the natural resources.
In their brief, Rhino Oil and Gas does not rule out the fracking option but added that there ‘is currently not enough information to determine what techniques might be required for future gas extraction’.

A typical exploration rig and equipment requires 1 000 square metres.

Right now the company has authorisation from the Petroluem Association of SA, PASA, to continue with the necessary process which does not constitute authorisation. Only once public comment has been gleaned could an Environmental Impact Study be considered.
The company is planning a ‘maximum of ten core holes across the exploration area which are for exploration only’. Drill sites will be accessed using existing roads and farm tracks.
A typical exploration rig and equipment requires 1 000 square metres.
A seismic survey team will probably comprise 20 staff and no on-site accommodation is envisaged.
However, farmers and historians have already raised fears of what damage the exploration work may create in protected areas such as wetlands and on or near battlefield sites.
The company said ‘access to land will be required to only a few of the properties within the exploration area and then for a short period’. “Private property will only be accessed with prior consent by the owner in terms of a written agreement”.