Total’s drill rig has landed on SA shores ready to fast-track the oil and gas giant’s offshore exploration, which is hoped to contribute R1-trillion to the economy over the next 20 years.
But its plans could be thwarted by environmentalists and communities opposing the project. Some are calling for a moratorium on all offshore exploration.
The Green Connection, an environmental justice organisation that works with coastal communities and small-scale fishers dependent on the ocean for their livelihoods, has raised concerns of adverse effects on marine life, local fishing communities and tourism.
The organisation flagged these issues in its submission to a draft scoping report which was put out for public comment as part of the environmental impact assessment process for Total Exploration & Production SA to drill an additional 10 wells in the Outeniqua basin off the coast of Mossel Bay.
The drill rig, the Deepsea Stavanger, has made its way from Norway and arrived in Cape Town to expand on the discovery at the Brulpadda well where, as announced in February last year, there could be about 100-billion barrels of oil equivalent gas.
Total is seeking permission to drill the additional wells which are located in the same licence block as Brulpadda, known as block 11b/12b, for which Total SA is the operator and main shareholder with a 45% stake.
The schedule for drilling the first well is not confirmed yet, but work could begin by the second quarter of next year and take about five months to complete.
The draft scoping report, compiled by SLR Consulting, highlights possible impacts of Total’s proposed activity and mitigation measures. The window to comment on the scoping report closed on August 21.
In its submission, the Green Connection raised the alarm on the potentially negative effects of drilling on the environment and local communities.
Though the report details public participation measures that have and will be taken, the Green Connection’s Liziwe McDaid said public participation had so far been inadequate.
“During the Covid-19 pandemic we have seen that the public participation has continued, and yet affected communities, without adequate access to the internet, have no idea about what has been planned,” she said.
Rosa-Linda Kock, of the Support Centre for Land Change, believes Total has failed to connect with the potentially affected communities in the Garden Route District.
“As far as [our organisation] is reaching out to these fishermen, they are all responding with the same — ‘we know nothing about this’. No authorisation can and should be granted during the state of disaster.”
Ntsindiso Nongcavu, chair of Coastal Links Eastern Cape, a community-based organisation, said drilling for oil and gas in the area comes with too many risks for small-scale fishing communities.
“We would lose our fishing rights in the area around the drilling, and many ocean species will migrate as a result of the drilling,” Nongcavu said. “Already there are no job opportunities to help develop us as poor communities. Our future is in fishing and tourism.”
The draft scoping report describes an oil spill or blowout as an “unlikely event” but for which contract agreements have been placed with global emergency response companies.
Judy Bell of Coastwatch KZN said the proposed drilling area is where the warm Agulhas and cold Benguela currents meet, providing vast breeding and feeding grounds for marine creatures.
“The impact of drilling waste, leaking wells or even a blowout, will be felt by all South Africans, Mozambicans and Namibians,” she said.
She suggested there should be a moratorium on offshore exploration until a strategic environmental assessment, which determines the environmental implications of policies, is undertaken.
Total said it adheres to authorisation based on the environmental impact assessment and the approved environmental management plan for offshore operations. It has appointed an independent environmental compliance officer to monitor and audit its activities against the requirements of the environmental management plan.
Total E&P SA said it takes environmental, social and governance matters seriously and has processes in place aimed at minimising its environmental footprint and managing the impact of its activities on biodiversity and natural ecosystems in line with international best practices.
The company said it has fulfilled its obligations under an approved environmental management plan and will continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders as it proceeds with the project.
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