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News24
08-05-2025
- Business
- News24
‘One in 7 000th' chance of oil spill off Cape coast, TotalEnergies tells court
Environmental groups are challenging an environmental authorisation granted to TotalEnergies for exploratory drilling off the southwest coast between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas. TotalEnergies last year announced it would no longer be involved in exploration and development activities in the area, but it still holds a 40% stake in the block. Government's counsel says that environmental groups are deliberately scaring away international investors through 'calculated delays'. For climate change news and analysis, go to News24 Climate Future homepage. TotalEnergies has told a high court there is a 'one in 7 000th' chance of an oil spill occurring off the Cape coast, despite concerns raised by environmental groups. In a three-day hearing at the Western Cape High Court this week, the oil and gas giant defended the environmental authorisation granted to it by government in 2023 for oil and gas exploration in the area known as Block 5/6/7. The block, which covers an area of 10 000 square kilometres, lies between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas. Environmental groups The Green Connection and Natural Justice lodged a legal challenge in March 2024, seeking a judicial review of the environmental authorisation. This follows an unsuccessful appeals process with the environment minister. The incumbent, Barbara Creecy, had dismissed 18 appeals, essentially upholding the environmental authorisation that was granted by the minister of mineral resources and energy in 2023. But in July 2024, TotalEnergies unexpectedly announced its withdrawal from Block 5/6/7 – meaning it would not be involved in exploration or development in the area. TotalEnergies has since attempted to bring Shell (a joint exploration rights holder) into the court proceedings in a joinder application, which The Green Connection and Natural Justice opposed. According to court documents filed by TotalEnergies, it intends to transfer its 40% interest in Block 5/6/7 to the remaining rights holders — PetroSA and Shell. Shell will also take over operations — such as the proposed exploratory drilling and the related obligations of the environmental authorisation. The environmental authorisation, which is the subject of the legal challenge, is still held by TotalEnergies. READ | Alone in the water? Africa Energy the last man standing as TotalEnergies quits offshore gas finds The applicants said there were significant procedural flaws in various aspects of the environmental authorisation being granted. This includes an inadequate public participation process, improper handling of the appeal process, and the minister's failure to consider coastal management laws and climate implications. The applicants also presented to Judge Nobahle Mangcu-Lockwood that authorities failed to properly evaluate exploration risks, including potential oil spills threatening coastal fishing communities' livelihoods. Central to the case is whether exploration should be assessed separately from production. i.e., the drilling of oil or gas. TotalEnergies put forward that these are distinct activities requiring separate authorisation. According to the applicants, TotalEnergies failed to properly assess the impacts of a potential oil spill on the fishing communities along the stretch of coast closest to the drilling block. They argued that not only did TotalEnergies fail to submit a sufficient socioeconomic impact assessment report, but it also failed to assess the climate change implications of future oil and gas extraction should the exploration successfully detect these resources. They also contended that TotalEnergies did not submit sufficient contingency plans for a blowout (an uncontrolled release of oil or gas from a well) and oil spill, for the minister to consider. The applicants' counsel argued that this was in direct contravention of South Africa's international climate commitments according to the Paris Agreement. TotalEnergies, in turn, defended its socioeconomic impact assessment report and said it not only accounted for the impact of an oil spill but relied on modelling of worst-case scenarios to inform mitigation measures. TotalEnergies' counsel said that there was a 'one in 7 000 chance' of an oil spill or blowout occurring. This tied in with its reply against several of the review grounds presented by the Green Connection and Natural Justice. Legal counsel for TotalEnergies repeatedly emphasised that the applicants' case was undermined by the fact that National Environmental Management Act does not obligate it or any other party to assess potential climate change impacts from the resulting production during the exploratory phase, adding that extraction and production activities require separate authorisation that would be applied for later. TotalEnergies stated that it was a technical impossibility to finalise operation-specific oil spill and blowout contingency plans at the exploratory phase and that it would only be able to submit those plans for approval by the South African Maritime Safety Authority closer to drilling execution. It also said that general oil spill and blowout response measures broadly applied to its activities were provided in its reports presented to government. Calculated to delay Advocate Gerrit Grobler, representing the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, argued that the Green Connection and Natural Justice have 'been delaying this project from the beginning' and that all legal action it had taken against TotalEnergies has been 'calculated to delay'. According to Grobler, international investment is being withdrawn from South Africa as a consequence, 'because we can't get moving'. 'The tactics used in the South African legal system with these kinds of things are not international investor-friendly. [These are investors] working with billions of [rands] and once there is a delay, you can imagine what the consequences are with costs rising and interest being lost,' Grobler told the court. He added that he would not be surprised if TotalEnergies and the Department of Forestry Fisheries and Environment found itself in front of the Constitutional Court against the applicants, should their application for review not be granted. 'It is high time that if these kinds of applications [that delay investments], that are really of no substance, as this one is […], that our courts express their displeasure at this kind of action,' Grobler said. Judgment was reserved.
The Citizen
05-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
24 hours in pictures, 5 May 2025
24 hours in pictures, 5 May 2025 Through the lens: The Citizen's Picture Editors select the best news photographs from South Africa and around the world. epaselect epa12074195 People participate in the 'Balloon Parade' in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, 04 May 2025. The event, considered the largest balloon parade in the world, featured a marine world theme. Floats decorated with balloons were created by 13 international artists from Brazil, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Picture: EPA-EFE/FRANCISCO GUASCO Demonstrators protest against offshore oil and gas drilling in Cape Town, South Africa, on May 05, 2025. Demonstrators in Cape Town gathered outside the Western Cape High Court to protest offshore oil and gas drilling along South Africa's coastline, coinciding with a court case challenging the government's approval of exploration in blocks between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas. Organized by environmental groups The Green Connection and Natural Justice as part of the 'Who Stole Our Oceans' campaign, the protest raised concerns over threats to marine biodiversity, small-scale fishers' livelihoods, and the climate, calling instead for a shift to renewable energy. The demonstration highlights the ongoing clash between environmental advocates and government officials, such as Minister Gwede Mantashe, who promote oil and gas projects for economic growth. Picture: Matrix Images Activists protest outside Cape Town High Court on May 05, 2025 in Cape Town, South Africa. Civil organisations are questioning the environmental authorisation process and challenging the government's alleged failure to properly assess the significant risks posed by oil and gas exploration, including oil spills, climate change impacts and threats to small-scale fishers' livelihoods. (Photo by Gallo Images/Brenton Geach) A picture taken with a drone shows rapeseed fields in full bloom in Rokietnica village, southeastern Poland, 05 May 2025. Picture: EPA-EFE/Darek Delmanowicz Participants run during the Wings for Life World Run App Run in Pretoria, on May 4, 2025. The Wings for Life World Run is a running competition held on the first weekend of May since 2014 to collect funds for the not-for-profit foundation Wings for Life. The entry fee goes completely to Spinal Cord Research. Picture: Tyrone Bradley A mitre of a cardinal as he attends the Ninth Novendiale Mass in memory of Pope Francis at Saint Peter's Basilica, in the Vatican in Rome, Italy on May 04, 2025. The Vatican announced on the 21 of April the death of Pope Francis at the age of 88 at his residence in the Vatican's Casa Santa Marta. The conclave with gathers a College of Cardinals is due to start meeting on the 07 of May to elect the new Pope. Picture: Matrix Images / Andre Pain Deputy President Paul Mashatile and Gwede Mantashe at the business breakfast engagement session on the Transformation Fund at Freedom Park Heritage Site and Museum on May 05, 2025 in Pretoria, South Africa. The Transformation Fund is a key initiative aimed at accelerating transformation and supporting black-owned and black-managed businesses across various sectors in South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images/Frennie Shivambu) Tourists take selfies as they visit a section of the Great Wall of China near Beijing, China, 05 May 2025. During the May Day national holiday, observed in China over a period of five days from 01 until 05 May, popular tourist spots become very crowded. Picture: EPA-EFE/JESSICA LEE Environmental protesters gather outside the head offices of TotalEnergies in Johannesburg, South Africa, 05 May 2025. The protesters gathered to hand a memorandum to the company as they stand in solidarity with coastal communities in the Western Cape of South Africa and give their full support to The Green Connection and Natural Justice, who have brought a judicial review against the environmental authorization granted to TotalEnergies to conduct offshore oil and gas drilling along the coastline from Cape Town to Cape Agulhas. Picture: EPA-EFE/KIM LUDBROOK Participants disguised as Christian and Moor soldiers take part in a re-enactment of Moors and Christians battles during the last day of 'Moors and Christians' festival in the town of Alcoy, Spain, 05 May 2025. The festival marks the battles between Muslim Moors and Christians to take control of the city of Alcoy in 1276. Picture: EPA-EFE/PABLO MIRANZO Gayton McKenzie (Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture of South Africa) at the 2nd G20 Culture Working Group Session on Day 1 at the Sandton Convention Centre on May 05, 2025 in Sandton, South Africa. This significant gathering forms part of South Africa's G20 Presidency, the first to be hosted on African soil, and serves as a platform for in-depth discussions on four key priorities. (Photo by Gallo Images/OJ Koloti) A window cleaner works on a high-rise building in Bangkok, Thailand, 05 May 2025. The World Bank downgraded Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for 2025 to 1.6 percent from 2.9 percent, marking the lowest growth prediction among ASEAN economies due to the impact of US reciprocal tariff measures, lower than expected tourist arrival number, high public debt as well as the global economic slowdown. Picture: EPA-EFE/RUNGROJ YONGRIT PICTURES: EFF march to Kleinfontein
Daily Maverick
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Yoliswa Dwane Memorial Lecture, protest against offshore drilling and unpacking land expropriation
This week, The Green Connection and Natural Justice lead a protest outside the Western Cape Division of the High Court challenging TotalEnergies' offshore exploration — a move echoed by solidarity actions nationwide. Throughout the week, key events include a Defend Our Democracy webinar on land expropriation, the Yoliswa Dwane Memorial Lecture, a seminar on the DRC conflict, and the 6th Summit of the Joburg Crisis Alliance. On Monday, 5 May at 9.30am, The Green Connection and Natural Justice will hold a protest outside the Western Cape Division of the High Court, where the organisations will challenge the environmental authorisation given to TotalEnergies for exploration off the coast from Cape Town to Cape Agulhas. Several similar protests will take place against TEEPSA567 in cities across South Africa, including: Johannesburg: TotalEnergies Headquarters (10am to noon) Gqeberha: TotalEnergies Ziyabuya, Kwa Dwesi (10.30am to noon) KwaZulu-Natal, Mabibi Beach (10am – 12 pm) Centane- Wavecrest Area (1o am to noon) Port St Johns, Umngazi Beach (10am to noon) On Tuesday, 6 May at 3 pm, Defend Our Democracy will host a webinar on land expropriation. During Expropriation — The answer to South Africa's land reform problems? Philile Ntuli from SAHRC, Gabriel Crouse from the IRR and Professor Fred Henndricks will discuss the following: Understanding the Expropriation Act of 2024. Tackling misinformation about the act. The differing viewpoint. The effectiveness of the act in addressing land reform and restitution. Register to join the conversation here. Also happening on Tuesday, at 5pm, Equal Education and the Centre for Law and Society will host the third annual Yoliswa Dwane Memorial Lecture. Under this year's theme, Gaza, Children's Rights and International Law, international children's law expert Dr Noam Peleg will deliver the keynote address. 'As Equal Education, we stand with the children of Gaza, we stand with the children of Congo, we stand with the children of Sudan. We can't stand by while children are suffering worldwide. In the spirit of Sis Yoli, we commit ourselves to solidarity towards an equal education,' the organisation said. Venue: Lecture Theatre 2, Second Floor, Kramer Law School, University of Cape Town, Middle Campus RSVP at this link. On Wednesday, 7 May from 12.30 to 4.30pm, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and North West University's Centre for Geopolitical Security and Strategy, and Afrocentric Governance of Public Affairs will host a hybrid seminar on geopolitics and the conflict in the DRC. 'Since January, renewed clashes in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have triggered another humanitarian catastrophe in the Great Lakes region. By February, the M23 rebel group had taken control of Goma and Bukavu, two key cities in a region heavily endowed with mineral resources. 'Under pressure, the DRC government finally agreed to direct peace talks with M23 in late March. Brokered by Qatar, the negotiations led to a ceasefire announced on 23 April, giving hope that calm could return to eastern DRC,' the organisation said. Moderator: Ottilia Maunganidze, Head of Special Projects, ISS. Panelists: Dr Claude Kabemba, Executive Director, Southern Africa Resource Watch Dr Michael S Mugah, Researcher, ISS Nairobi Brig-General (rtd) Peter Sereko, Operational expert in SANDF missions Venue: ISS Pretoria Register to attend the seminar here. On Thursday, 8 May at 11am, the Institute for Economic Justice will host a webinar on International Finance Institutions, Debt & the Impact on Climate Justice. 'South Africa's debt, worsened by the financial struggles after the 2008 recession and the pandemic, makes it harder for us to tackle climate change. The increasing debt costs reduce the money available for important social services and make it difficult for us to manage policies well. With limited public information about borrowing from International Financial Institutions (IFIs), this webinar will look into how IFI borrowing affects our efforts for climate justice,' IEJ said. Speakers include Liso Mdutyana, junior researcher at Debt and Budget Policy and Brighton Phiri, climate finance activist. Register here. On Saturday, 10 May from 9am to 1 pm, the Joburg Crisis Alliance will host its 6th Summit. DM
