Rhino given green light for aerial survey of Northern KZN
The Department of Mineral Resources has decided to grant environmental authorisation to Rhino Oil and Gas for exploration activities.
EARLIER this year, representatives from Rhino Oil and Gas and SLR Consulting visited Vryheid for a public participation meeting.
Although very poorly attended, the meeting was an opportunity for the public to voice their concerns and opinions with regard to Rhino’s application for exploration rights in the area. The community was afforded the opportunity, following this meeting, to appeal the application and one may have expected a stronger sense of opposition, regarding the initial outrage from locals opposed to the imminent threat of fracking when Rhino Oil and Gas first expressed an interest in what lies beneath the surface of our beautiful town and its lush farming land, but Rhino Oil and Gas rolled ahead with their application without much resistance from the locals, it seems.
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On October 3, interested and affected parties were officially informed of the decision by the Department of Mineral Resources, dated September 21, to grant environmental authorisation to Rhino Oil and Gas in terms of Regulation 24 of the Environmental Impact Assessment regulations, 2014, for the exploration activities as detailed.
“The purpose of exploration is to identify the existence of any commercially viable reserves of oil and / or gas. Exploration is a technically complex and iterative process consisting of a number of stages typically termed i) early-phase exploration, ii) appraisal and iii) well drilling. Data from each stage improves the knowledge and understanding of the resource. This information informs the following stages, which are only undertaken if results are positive. Exploration can require a period of up to 10 years to inform a decision on a production right application.
“In the current application Rhino Oil & Gas is proposing, and has only sought authorisation for, remote exploration techniques (including analysis of existing data and an aerial full tensor gradiometry gravity survey). Thus no wells, permeability testing, pressure testing or hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) are proposed as part of the current three-year exploration programme. Should Rhino Oil & Gas propose to conduct other exploration activities in future this would need to be informed by a further application to PASA and a separate environmental assessment and authorisation process.” – SLR Consulting.
All interested and affected parties are advised that an appeal may be lodged against the environmental authorisation decision in terms of the National Appeals Regulations. Should you wish to appeal the decision or any aspect thereof, you must submit an appeal using the prescribed form and in accordance with Chapter 2 of the National Appeals Regulations, 2014, within twenty (20) days from the date of the notification.
Interested and affected parties who would like to appeal this decision can visit slrconsulting.com for a detailed description on how to do so.
A copy of your appeal must also be provided to Rhino Oil and Gas, care of SLR Consulting: Attention: Matthew Hemming, Subject: Appeal on 317ER, Fax: 011 467 0978,
Postal: PO Box 1596, Cramerview, 2060, Email: mhemming@slrconsulting.com.
Information on the prescribed form of an appeal, as well as assistance regarding the appeal process is obtainable from the Appeals Administrator at the Department of Environmental Affairs at: Tel: 012 399 9356 and email: appealsdirectorate@environment.gov.za.
A decision regarding the grant of an exploration right application in terms of section 79 of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act is still pending.
