http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aK2m2iihb_Vk

Statoil, Sasol Apply for S. Africa Shale Gas Rights

Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Statoil ASA, Norway’s biggest oil and gas producer, Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Sasol Ltd. made a joint application for exploration rights of shale gas resources in South Africa’s Karoo Basin.

The companies submitted an application to the Petroleum Agency SA and expect the approval process to take about a year, Johannesburg-based Sasol said today in an e-mailed statement. The Karoo Basin in central South Africa has unproved shale gas potential and “significant exploration efforts are required to assess” the resources, Sasol said.

“We’re applying for an exploration area, but it will take a while before anything more happens,” Statoil spokeswoman Mari Dotterud said by phone. “Once we get the approval, the next step will be seismic surveys and then the next step would be drilling. This can be an interesting area for shale gas.”

Producers such as Statoil and BP Plc are tapping unconventional sources to stem a decline from fields in the North Sea and other maturing areas. Shale rock thousands of feet below the surface is more expensive to develop and need a greater number of wells than conventional reserves.