Eco-justice organisations such as The Green Connection, Natural Justice, and Masifundise are sounding alarm bells about yet another fossil fuel project application underway, warning of potentially severe environmental risks to marine biodiversity and serious socio-economic concerns for the coastal communities that depend on it.
After reviewing the Draft Scoping Report – for TotalEnergies EP South Africa’s (TEEPSA) proposed offshore oil and gas exploration drilling in the southern part of Block Deep-Water Orange Basin (DWOB), off the country’s West Coast – the eco-justice organisations also highlight the project’s impact on the country’s commitment to address the climate crisis and move toward a just energy transition.
The Green Connection’s Strategic Lead, Liziwe McDaid, emphasises government’s responsibility to make informed decisions that serve the public interest.
“If crucial data is missing – information essential for fair and sensible decision-making – then government must reject the reports and applications. Now more than ever, as the climate crisis worsens, energy poverty persists, and food insecurity grows, the risks associated with oil and gas exploration may simply be too high. South Africans, especially those who depend on the ocean for food, livelihoods, and their way of life, cannot afford to sacrifice vital marine ecosystems. We need government to recognise that the world is moving toward a new era of innovation and sustainable alternatives that do not compromise ecosystem health,” said McDaid.
The organisations say that TEEPSA’s argument, that the proposed project aligns with South Africa’s climate policies, is flawed. TEEPSA cannot ignore the full lifecycle of the project in its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) because exploration leads to production, which results in more oil and gas, and this means more carbon emissions and worsening climate change.
Therefore, trying to separate exploration from production, to avoid climate scrutiny, is legally indefensible. The science is clear: fossil fuel extraction drives climate change, making this project neither necessary nor desirable under National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (NEMA) principles.
David Mtshali from Natural Justice’s Defending Rights Programme says: “The Draft Scoping Report’s failure to identify oil and gas extraction activities as a factor to be assessed in the need and desirability evaluation, will result in an inadequate assessment of the proposed project’s overall need and desirability. This oversight will compromise the integrity of the environmental assessment process and will result in non-compliance with the country’s laws and regulations on climate change and the environment in general.”
As part of the DWOB South project, TEEPSA plans to drill up to seven wells in an area spanning nearly 30,000 km² between Saldanha Bay and Kleinzee, with drilling depths reaching 3,900 metres. Experts warn that exploratory drilling at such depths carries a heightened risk of blowouts, raising concerns about South Africa’s ability to contain an oil spill of this magnitude.
McDaid warns, “This project, because it goes deeper, seems more dangerous and even riskier than the infamous Deepwater Horizon well, where a catastrophic oil spill has caused long-term harm to marine ecosystems and local coastal communities.”
Mtshali adds: “The continued pursuit of oil and gas as demonstrated by this proposed project, undermines the fundamental right of individuals to have the environment protected for the benefit of both current and future generations. Such projects are neither needed nor desirable, especially now when the world is facing a climate crisis.”
According to Carmen Mannarino at Masifundise, “Fisher people in South Africa are already struggling with declining stocks of key fish species they depend on, compounded by the impacts of climate change. The last thing they need is another industry that disregards their wellbeing. Continued offshore oil and gas exploration will further threaten coastal livelihoods. The draft scoping report fails to acknowledge these realities; another reason for it to be rejected.
“It is critical that we learn from the devastating impact of similar activities in neighbouring Namibia, where tuna stocks have declined drastically since 2011 due to oil and gas exploration. This is why we need a thorough Fisheries Assessment that fully considers the long-term implications for our oceans and the people who depend on them.”
As the public participation process for this project unfolds, The Green Connection, Natural Justice, and Masifundise urge South Africans to hold decision-makers accountable. The future of the country’s energy system should not be dictated by corporate profits but by sustainable development that ensures economic and environmental justice for all.
“This is about our communities, our oceans, and our future,” say the organisations. “We cannot allow reckless fossil fuel expansion to rob the people of their rights and livelihoods, especially as life has already become harder, with the cost of living quickly becoming almost completely unaffordable for most.”