The battle by Plett’s Environmental Forum against off-shore gas production by Total Energies has been placed on the international radar by the renowned Lewis Pugh Foundation.

The matter relates to off-shore production right by TotalEnergies (Teepsa) for block 11B/12B off Plettenberg Bay.

The boost for the forum’s fight against gas production and seismic exploration comes in a week that a further extension to the submission date for the final environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) was announced. The new date is August 30.

“It is with some relief (for now), that we share this news,” said Julie Carlisle of the Plett Environmental Forum.

“We suspect that Teepsa cannot move forward on this application without an end-user agreement in place and without confirmation that the PetroSA platform and pipeline are available/adequate to pipe gas on. A small victory for now, thanks to a giant effort by so many people and the community standing together.”

She said so far no response had been received on the CGG Seismic Survey appeal.

“We wait with bated breath on this, though it would seem that the thousands of appeals submitted to the approval for seismic surveying have, at least, delayed this for now,” said Carlisle.

The decision to postpone the offshore production right and environmental authorisation applications by TotalEnergies for Block 11B/12B was communicated to interested and affected parties by WSP Group Africa (Pty) Ltd, the environmental assessment practitioner.

30 motions pending to explore resources along the coastline

The internationally renowned Lewis Pugh Foundation said in its latest newsletter there were close to 30 motions pending to explore resources along the South African coastline, “some of them alongside sensitive Marine Protected Areas”.

The foundation strives to ensure environmental justice for the world’s oceans by protecting them from human abuse and exploitation. So far it has been instrumental in protecting 2,2 million square kilometres of ocean.

In the foundation’s latest newsletter, under the headline ‘Destroyer of Worlds’ it uses the quote: “Now I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds.”

The newsletter states this famous quote from the Hindu sacred text the Bhagavad Gita, was voiced by American physicist J Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s film. Oppenheimer, which dominated the Academy Awards. It was about making the first atomic bomb.

“But the words resonate deeply today as we face challenges posed by climate change and the exploitation of our natural resources. Deep-sea mining is a striking example of our power to reshape the world,” says the foundation.

“In South Africa, there are currently close to thirty motions pending to explore resources along the coastline, some of them alongside sensitive Marine Protected Areas such as the one off Plettenberg Bay. Seismic exploration, which reveals potential resources such as oil and gas under the sea floor, involves blasting airguns to create loud shockwaves that can penetrate hundreds of kilometres of ocean. The stress of seismic surveys may have negative impacts on marine wildlife, including behavioural changes and altering migration patterns.

“Whales, in particular, are vulnerable to these kinds of disturbances because they rely on sound to find mates and food, avoid predators, navigate and communicate,” read the newsletter.

It also quotes this warning from a scientist about proposed seismic blasting off South Africa’s Eastern Cape Coast last year: “Cetacean calves separated from their mothers because of high noise levels would be unable to suckle”.

The newsletter stated that activity was withdrawn after a citizen action campaign. The current proposed seismic blasting off Plettenberg Bay has also been temporarily halted after an appeal by concerned citizens.

Legal challenge launched

A legal challenge was launched in the Western Cape High Court on Monday, March 25 by the Green Connection and Natural Justice against a decision to grant TotalEnergies EP South Africa (Teepsa) environmental authorisation for exploratory drilling in block 5/6/7, located off the coast between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas.

The grounds for the review application include government’s failure to assess the socio-economic impacts of a potential oil spill on local fisheries, while also ignoring the climate change impacts associated with oil or gas usage.

The Green Connection and Natural Justice said in a statement that they are also concerned over the lack of proper evaluation of Oil Spill Blowout Contingency Plans.

“Furthermore, the organisations state that government failed to adequately consider the requirements of the Integrated Coastal Management Act (ICMA) and ignored the impacts of the drilling activities extending to Namibia and international waters,” reads the statement.

The respondents include Minister Gwede Mantashe and the director-general of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), who initially granted the environmental authorisation, and Minister of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment (DFFE) Barbara Creecy, who dismissed the appeals made by more than 20 people and organisations against this decision.