Shell and Total suffer major setback in South Africa offshore drilling plans

The Western Cape High Court on Thursday refused environmental authorisation for offshore drilling in a venture led by French energy giant TotalEnergies off South Africa’s west coast.

On Wednesday, the court ruled that the environment ministry’s 2023 approval for exploratory operations in the roughly 10 000-square-kilometre block near Cape Town had been “reviewed and set aside.”

‘Harm marine life’

Environmental lobby groups that legally challenged the project said it would harm marine life.

South Africa’s state oil company PetroSA, TotalEnergies, and British oil giant Shell jointly own the block, with TotalEnergies acting as the operator.

In a statement to AFP, TotalEnergies said the venture had complied with all local environmental and social regulations from the outset and that it would assess the judgement.

Although it had already announced its exit from exploration in the block, it remains “fully committed to respecting the judicial process to its term”, the company said.

‘Major victory’

In overturning the environmental permit, the judge Nobahle Mangcu-Lockwood said TotalEnergies could reapply for authorisation after public consultation.

Green Connection, one of the groups that filed the legal challenge, said the ruling was a major victory for coastal communities and small-scale fishers.

“Oil spill and blowout contingency plans were kept from the public until after approval, denying communities a chance to comment,” it said in a statement.

Interest in oil and gas exploration off South Africa’s coast has surged in recent years, driven in part by major discoveries across the maritime border in Namibia and broader energy activity in southern Africa, including Mozambique.

The Natural Justice group of environmental lawyers said Wednesday’s judgement affirmed that all companies needed to follow due process before seeking the green light for oil exploration off South Africa.

“We will continue to turn to our courts to not only stop the takers who parade under the guise of growth and development, but to ensure that impacts of oil and gas exploration and production are properly scrutinised and that our people and our resources are not exploited,” it said.