Regulations for the Use of Water for Exploration and Production of Onshore Naturally Occurring Hydrocarbons that Require Stimulation Including Hydraulic Fracturing and Underground Coal Gasification to Extract and any Activity Incidental Thereto that may Impact Detrimentally on the Water Resource, 2021, n. 406.

The purpose of these Regulations is to protect water resources in order to avoid and minimise detrimental and cumulative impacts on the water resource caused by the exploration and production of natural hydrocarbons onshore. The Regulations apply to all onshore exploration and production operations for unconventional oil or gas that may impact detrimentally on water resource.
The Regulations define relevant terms, including: abandonment of wells, means any wells that are not satisfactorily decommissioned beyond the authorised care and maintenance time period; coalbed methane, as petroleum associated with coal; spring, as a point where subsurface water emerges at surface; controlled activity, as exploration and production of onshore naturally occurring hydrocarbons and any incidental activity that may impact detrimentally on water resource; hazardous substance, as a substance, mixture of substances, product or material declared in terms of South African Law; process water, includes all water related to exploration and production; produced water, means all fluids displaced from the geological formations, which can contain substances that are found naturally in the formations that is produced when performing a controlled activity; strategic water source area, as a natural source area for water resources that provides disproportionately large volumes of water per unit area and that is considered of strategic significance for water security.
Matters covered by the Regulations include: conducting of controlled activity during exploration; applications for water use licence during production and suspension or withdrawal; prohibited activities; drilling and fluid management; offences.