The South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has granted TotalEnergies permission to conduct offshore drilling for natural gas and oil, as reported in a document obtained by Reuters.
According to Reuters, this decision comes after the dismissal of an appeal made by over a dozen individuals and advocacy groups aimed at stopping TotalEnergies from drilling in Block 5/6/7 off the Cape Coast.
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The appeal sought to persuade Environment Minister Barbara Creecy to overturn the environmental authorisation granted to the French energy company by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy in April.
The grounds for the appeal varied, including concerns about marine noise, oil spills, climate change and what was perceived as insufficient public consultation.
However, in a comprehensive 144-page ruling dated 24 September, Minister Creecy, serving as the appellate authority, rejected these concerns.
Creecy stated, ‘I am therefore satisfied that the impacts of noise and light have been adequately assessed and mitigated to ensure low impacts on the receiving environment. As such, this ground of appeal is dismissed.’
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The area of interest for this drilling project spans approximately 10 000 square kilometres, situated offshore between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas.
It is located at a distance of roughly 60 kilometres from the nearest coastline point and extends up to 170 kilometres at its farthest point. Water depths in this area range from 700 metres to 3 200 metres.
TotalEnergies has reportedly outlined plans to drill up to five exploration wells as part of this project.
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