(Bloomberg) – Shell Plc is appealing a court decision that overturned the environmental permit for an oil exploration block off the west coast of South Africa.
The oil giant is challenging, alongside the South African government, a decision by the Western Cape High Court to set aside the environmental impact assessment for Block 5/6/7 — a license previously held by TotalEnergies SE, the company said in response to questions.
The move escalates an ongoing battle between explorers and environmental groups in the country. South Africa estimates as much as $1.6 billion of investments have been stopped by legal challenges from non-governmental organizations, Minister of Mineral Resources and Petroleum Gwede Mantashe told parliament last month.
“The High Court judgment misinterprets the National Environmental Management Act, imposes practical and operational constraints outside of the Act and incorrectly expands the scope by conflating exploration with production,” Shell said in an emailed statement.
The appeal was heard on Oct. 16 and a judgment is expected in the next few weeks, according to Green Connection, one of the environmental groups involved in the case.
Both Shell and Total are ramping up preparations to drill in South Africa following discoveries across the maritime border in Namibia that have turned the area into one of the continent’s exploration hotspots.
Shell awaits a separate judgment in South Africa’s top court over exploration activity halted off its “Wild Coast” project along the Indian Ocean.
