Shell and TotalEnergies have lost a legal battle with Western Cape High Court, which set aside the government’s authorisation for offshore drilling.
This comes after large deposits of oil were discovered in Namibia and multinational energy companies began launching plans to beginning drilling operations off South Africa’s West coast.
Initially, TotalEnergies secured authorisation to begin drilling, but it intended to transfer the environmental authorisation to Shell, which would then oversee the drilling.
However, environmental groups, such as the Green Connection and Natural Justice, took the matter to the High Court over concerns that the energy companies had failed to secure public approval for drilling regarding emergency plans.
“A critical omission, the Oil Spill and Blowout Contingency Plans were withheld from the public until after approval, denying communities the chance to comment on emergency preparedness,” said Shahil Singh, Legal Advisor to The Green Connection.
The High Court found that the Environmental Impact Assessment had failed to examine the potential impact of a major oil spill on local communities.
This then was in breach of coastal protection laws, and Judge Mangcu-Lockwood reversed the government’s decision and returned the matter to the Department of Minerals and Petroleum.
He made this judgment due to five issues that undermined the Environmental Impact Assessment.
These being:
- Ignoring coastal protection laws
- No assessment of cross-border harm
- Climate change impacts were not properly assessed
- The public was kept in the dark on key emergency plans
- No proper study of what a disaster would mean for communities
Following this ruling, the issue will require fresh assessment and public participation, which includes new or amended assessments from TotalEnergies that properly assess the impacts of a major accident on coastal communities.
Additionally, TotalEnergies will need to release the project’s full lifecycle climate impacts, potential cross-border impacts on Namibia, and detailed oil spill response plans.
“This is a significant win for transparency, precaution, and for the rights of coastal communities and small-scale fishers who refuse to be sidelined in decisions that affect their livelihoods and the future of our oceans,” said Singh.
Recent problems for Shell
This is the latest setback for Shell, which has seen failure in court over its proposed seismic surveys off the Wild Coast in South Africa.
The ruling from the court was due to a lack of public consultation on the impact of the surveys on local marine life.
While Shell is currently the third largest petrol station chain after Engen and Astron/Caltex, there have been reports that suggest the company will soon sell off its stations to buyers from Abu Dhabi or Switzerland.
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