At the June Technology Evening, the Johannesburg branch hosted Paulo de Sousa Gomes from Schneider Electric who enlightened us on ‘The Shale Gas Revolution’.
Eric Carter (right) thanks Paulo after the presentation.
Shale gas is natural gas that is found trapped within shale formations. Shale gas has become an increasingly important source of natural gas in the United States since the start of this century, and interest has spread to potential gas shales in the rest of the world. The method deployed to mine this shale gas is a process called fracking. Induced hydraulic fracturing is a technique in which a liquid (in most cases water) is mixed with sand and chemicals and the resultant mixture is injected at high pressure into a wellbore. This creates small fractures in the deep rock formations, typically less than 1 mm wide, along which gas, petroleum and brine may migrate to the well. When hydraulic pressure is removed from the well, small grains of proppant (sand or aluminium oxide) hold these fractures open once the rock achieves equilibrium.
The technique is very common in wells for shale gas, tight gas, tight oil, coal seam gas and hard rock wells. Data collected by the Energy Information Administration agency of the United States Department of Energy indicate South Africa as the eighth potential shale gas producer in terms of reserves. This is a possible game changer for South Africa, and could transform South Africa’s energy landscape, but it has also sparked widespread debate in lieu of fear of contamination of the underground water supply.
Paulo also commented on the automation and processes involved in the production of shale gas. One of the challenges in bringing wells to production is that the amount of information to be managed is huge. Reconfiguring the control and management system is a mammoth task, so Schneider has come up with a ‘Shale Gas Factory’ approach, so that systems are self-configuring.
The meeting was well attended with a lengthy Q & A session afterwards. The branch thanks Paulo for his valued and informative presentation.
Other news
The JHB branch will be hosting the SAIMC Annual Golf Day on 8 August. Please contact Roxanne on 086 177 6 237 or [email protected]
The branch also undertook a site visit to the Airplane Factory on Friday 23 May which was well attended.
International robotics conference streams live to Africa
SAIMC
The SAIMC hosted five live-stream viewing events across South Africa for the IEEE International Conference of Robotics and Automation in Vienna, bringing global robotics research and technology directly to local industry and academia.
Read more...From the office of the CEO: Introduction to GRIP SAIMC
SAIMC
Industry has long been concerned about graduates who have no understanding of the modern equipment they will face in industry. This has triggered an investigation into the possibility of creating a facility whereby graduates register with the SAIMC and rotate through all the vendors to obtain experience on modern equipment.
Read more...SAIMC: Durban branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The SAIMC Durban Branch hosted a technology meeting featuring a presentation by Abacus Automation on the practical role of AI in industrial automation, drawing considerable interest from attendees.
Read more...SAIMC: Johannesburg branch SAIMC
SAIMC
Instrotech recently hosted a technical presentation on load cell technology and applications at the SAIMC Johannesburg Technology Evening, presented by Trevor Salzwedel. The session covered load cell fundamentals, selection and installation, mechanical considerations and calibration methods.
Read more...SAIMC: Johannesburg Golf Day SAIMC
SAIMC
The SAIMC Johannesburg Golf Day on 22 May 2026 brought together 16 four-balls for a day of golf, networking and fundraising, with generous support from sponsors across the instrumentation and control sector.
Read more...SAIMC: Johannesburg branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The Johannesburg Branch had the privilege of being hosted by Phoenix Contact for our technology event in May. Shamil Surbun, BU manager for Automation, presented a CPD-accredited session on ‘From Sensor to Cloud: How SPE and APL Are Transforming Industrial Connectivity’.
Read more...From the office of the CEO: Power Hour goes national SAIMC
SAIMC
South Africa’s automation, control, mechatronics and computer engineering community is changing fast, and the SAIMC is changing with it. I am excited to announce a new national initiative that will reshape how we deliver technical knowledge, strengthen branch identity and bring our community together like never before.
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, the publisher and its agents cannot be held responsible for any errors contained, or any loss incurred as a result. Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. The editor reserves the right to alter or cut copy. Articles submitted are deemed to have been cleared for publication. Advertisements and company contact details are published as provided by the advertiser. Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy or veracity of supplied material.
printer friendly version