Following the 1st successful Shale Gas Workshop in Cape Town almost two years ago (1 March 2010), AEON-GFZ hosted the 2nd Shale Gas Workshop, Think Tank and Fieldtrip at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in Port Elizabeth (PE), SA from 15 - 17 February 2012.  It was attended by more than 80 participants presented by academics from the GFZ Helmholtz Centre in Potsdam, Germany and various SA universities.  The workshop was officiated by Prof. Andrew Leitch, Dean of Science, NMMU. 

Core from the 1st academic shale gas drill hole by the NMMU shale gas research group was visited, incl. a new, 2nd drill hole to obtain fresh core for research purposes. 

Over  the  last  two  years  gas  shale  potential  has  featured prominently  on  the  conference  circuit,  but  these  gatherings  have  predominantly  focussed  on  socio-political  and  environmental  issues.    In  contrast  the  GFZ-AEON  workshops  are  geo-technical  in  nature, although some socio-economic issues were addressed.

For more information contact the Inkaba Liaison Office : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (082 969 3319) OR consult the other websites:  www.aeon.org.za  /  http://www.gfz-potsdam.de/portal/gfz/Struktur/Departments/Department+4/sec43