MPA ‘not new information’ says oil company
The recently declared Protea Banks MPA does not overlap with the area of interest.
The news of Protea banks and Aliwal Shoal being listed as two of the 20 new Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) for South Africa has raised the question of whether this will affect the proposed plans to drill for oil and gas off the coast.
ALSO READ : Protea Banks listed as Marine Protected Areas (MPA)
MPAs are described as ‘key tools in an integrated ocean management toolbox required to address the multi-faceted and complex challengers facing the oceans and to build long-term social, ecological and economic resilience. They are important means of reducing ocean risk from human impacts and providing long-term insurance against short-term threats’.
This is the official response from Italian multinational oil and gas energy company, Eni:
“Eni is a global leader in hydrocarbon exploration and production, with some of the best upstream oil and gas expertise in the industry.
The recently declared Protea Banks MPA does not overlap with the area of interest.
Furthermore, the Protea Banks MPA (along with other MPAs on the east coast of South Africa) have been considered in the Environmental Impact Assessment.
We have included the MPAs as focus areas in our sensitivity mapping and other planning studies for the Joint Venture (JV) activity.
This is not new information and we have planned with the intention of them being declared as protected areas.
In addition to this, the outcomes of the specialist studies, scenario modelling and forthcoming health, safety and environmental studies will ensure that MPAs remain at the forefront of the JV’s planning activities, to guarantee safe and reliable operations.
The JV will also comply with all the requirements of the environmental management programme, which is based on the outcomes of the impact assessment.”
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