Shell goes ahead with seismic survey off South Africa but faces new court hearing

Oil major Shell has kicked off its controversial seismic survey activities off the South African Wild Coast despite growing opposition from environmentalist groups, urging it to stop its oil exploration plans in the country. Shell is also facing a new hearing at the South African court as local coastal communities filed another application against the activities.

Ahead of Shell’s shareholder’s meeting last Friday, Greenpeace launched a video, calling on the company to “put down its weapons and stop the quest for oil in South Africa” as the explosions and shockwaves from the surveys could have a devastating impact on the health of marine life.

The international non-governmental organization states that the shootings will leave the animals blind and disabled to communicate and navigate, and this is “the most likely scenario in this case.”

Shell’s seismic surveys offshore South Africa have received a lot of attention from the public, environmentalists and fishermen, who claim that the five-month campaign would cause irreparable harm to the marine environment in the region, especially since the timing of the survey is during the migration season for humpback whales.

However, the South African court dismissed the 11th-hour legal challenge by environmental groups at the beginning of December, allowing the oil giant to go ahead with its planned activities along the country’s eastern coast. A spokesperson for Shell confirmed to Offshore Energy that the survey started this week.

According to the latest AIS data, the seismic acquisition vessel Amazon Warrior, which is in charge of the survey, is currently located in waters offshore South Africa. The vessel is supposed to acquire more than 6,000 sqkm of 3D seismic data.

The African Energy Chamber, an association representing the interests of the African oil and gas industry, previously supported the court’s decision, stating that after 325 seismic surveys globally there was no evidence that suggests that these forms of surveys cause irreparable harm to the environment as there are no reports of death or harm to local ecosystems or marine life.

Despite its previous court win, Shell is still facing more court action as Greenpeace Africa and partners are still pursuing legal action against the company by supporting a second interdict filed by affected communities.

On Friday 17 December, the Grahamstown High Court in Makhanda will hold a hearing on the matter since five local coastal communities filed an application against the activities, which argues that the company does not have the necessary environmental authorisation in terms of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) to lawfully undertake seismic surveys in the area.

Shell contends that it had consulted all relevant communities by meeting with a representative of three kings in the Eastern Cape, but the communities state that none of them were engaged within the preparation of the 2013 EMPr or the 2020 EMPr audit. 

The communities are joined by two civil society organisations working in the area, Sustaining the Wild Coast and All Rise Attorneys for Climate and the Environment. The application will be heard by Judge Gerald Bloem.

The Netherlands-headquartered company claims it is committed to protecting the environment and that a full environmental study was conducted in line with regulatory requirements and a legal permit was obtained to carry out the operations.

“Shell is committed to fully implement all the mitigation measures as approved by the regulatory authorities and will operate according to international guidelines,” the company added.

Responding to concerns around the survey, Hloniphizwe Mtolo, Country Chair, Shell South Africa, said in an open letter on 9 December that South Africa finding its own supplies of offshore gas could play a key part in changing the country’s energy mix, which is currently heavily reliant on coal for electricity generation. Mtolo underlined that, following the recent court ruling, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has again confirmed their full support for Shell to proceed with the offshore survey.

While Shell is moving forward with its seismic activities in South Africa, over in the UK, the company has recently dropped out of the controversial Cambo oilfield, led by Siccar Point Energy, following opposition from environmentalists and widespread discussions about whether the UK should continue developing new fossil fuels projects as it is working to become net-zero by 2050.

Shortly after, Siccar Point Energy decided to suspend its development of the oilfield located off the Shetland Islands. The drilling operations were expected to start as early as 2022 with the first production expected in 2025. However, the situation has now changed and the fate of the project is yet unknown.

Meanwhile, Shell will be dropping the Royal designation from its name and abandoning the Netherlands as its headquarters, which will be moved to the UK following the company’s decision to simplify its share structure as part of a push to accelerate its transition to a net-zero company. The Dutch government expressed its surprise and deep regret over Shell’s decision, but these plans are already moving forward.

Following the change, Shell expects it will no longer meet the conditions for using the Royal designation in its name, and as a result, the company will change its name from Royal Dutch Shell plc to Shell plc.

Written by Nadja Skopljak, editing by Nermina Kulović.