The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has granted TotalEnergies environmental authorization to carry out exploratory drilling on the south-west coast.
Those interested and affected have 20 days, from April 20, to appeal the decision to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.
The DMRE had notified TotalEnergies of its decision on April 17, according to SLR Consulting, the energy company’s environmental assessment technician.
TotalEnergies could drill up to five exploration wells within the area, known as Block 5/6/7. The block overlaps the Orange Basin, where there have been two major oil finds off the coast of Namibia.
Total holds the rights to the exploration block, along with Shell and PetroSA.
The area covers 10,000 km2 and is approximately between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas. It is 60 km from the coast at its closest point and 170 km from the coast at its farthest point.
The exploration area is about 10,000 km2 approximately between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas. SLR Consulting supplied – draft scoping report.
Proposed drilling is scheduled from the fourth quarter of this year to the second quarter of 2024. Drilling and testing is expected to take three to four months for each well.
After considering the project submissions, the DMRE concluded that TotalEnergies followed all the prescribed procedural requirements.
He also noted that the public consultation process also complied with regulations.
This has been the undoing of companies such as Shell and Searcher that seek to carry out seismic surveys with the aim of exploring the South African coast. In separate cases where the granting of environmental clearance was challenged, the court found that companies failed to carry out adequate public consultation processes.
The DMRE also found the drilling impacts to range from “negligible to unimportant” with mitigation. He also noted that the impact of an unplanned event such as a blowout, or the uncontrolled release of oil from a well, would be high, but such an event is “highly unlikely.” The DMRE is satisfied that TotalEnergies has strategies in place to deal with an outbreak, should it occur.
Based on its assessment, the DMRE said it is satisfied that the proposed activities would not conflict with environmental laws. And “will not pose any harmful risk to the environment and the public.”
The environmental justice group Green Connection will study the decision to appeal it.
