LONDON, March 16 (Reuters) - South Africa's mining ministersaid on Monday he expected to start issuing shale explorationlicences later this year.
"At the moment we are going through the consultation process(with stakeholders such as communities)," Ngoako Ramatlhodi toldReuters on the sidelines of the Chatham House extractiveIndustries in Africa conference.
"We should finish the consultations by the middle of thisyear and that will enable us to issue licences."
Earlier in the day, Royal Dutch Shell had said itwould pull back from shale projects in South Africa citinglicence delays.
Shell said it was pulling back due to lower energy pricesand delays in obtaining an exploration licence for the onshoreKaroo Basin. (Reporting by Silvia Antonioli and Ed Stoddard. Editing by JaneMerriman)