Total – register & comment

Comment Period open for Additional Oil Drilling+ by Total in Block 11B/12B off South Coast

Total has applied to extend their drilling license for oil and gas off the South Coast, (130 km and 45 km offshore of Mossel Bay and Cape St. Francis) in the the offshore acreage where they made their gas condensate find last year. Total E&P South Africa B.V. (“TEPSA”) plans to undertake additional exploration drilling in the eastern portion of the block and ‘associated activities’ in Block 11B/12B.

TEPSA holds an existing Exploration Right and Environmental Authorisation (EA) which allows for the undertaking of a number of exploration activities, including two-dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) seismic surveys, sonar bathymetry surveys and sediment sampling across the entire extent of Block 11B/12B, and drilling of up to ten wells in an area in the south-west portion of the block. 

Since the first granting of the Exploration Right, a number of seismic surveys have been undertaken in the block and in 2018/2019 drilling of the Brulpadda exploration well was completed, yielding a significant gas condensate discovery. Now TEPSA is now proposing to undertake further exploration drilling and associated activities, which includes the following :

• The drilling of up to ten additional exploration wells in a proposed new drill area in the eastern portion of the block;
• Controlled Source Electro-Magnetic Surveys (CSEM) to profile the presence of hydrocarbon resources; and 
• The deployment of metocean buoys for data acquisition and acoustic monitoring.

These exploration activities are dangerous to marine life and trigger a number of listed activities in terms of the EIA Regulations, 2014, and as such, an EA is required before such activities can commence.

SLR Consulting (South Africa) Pty Ltd has been appointed as the Independent Environmental Practitioner to undertake a full Scoping and ESIA process for the proposed exploration activities. The Draft Scoping Report (DSR) compiled for the above-mentioned project is available for a 30-day review and comment period from 19 June to 20 July 2020.  A copy of the full DSR is available on the SLR website (at http://slrconsulting.com/za/slr-documents/tepsa11b12b ).

To register as an interested and/or affected party (I&AP), please submit your full name and contact details to Ms Candice Sadan: csadan@slrconsulting.com

Due to COVID-19 related restrictions on public gatherings, no public meetings will be held at this stage of the ESIA process. However, should you wish to be invited to the planned online meeting, where additional information regarding the proposed project would be presented, please register by 25 June 2020 by sending an email to the address below. 

For issues and/or comments to be included in the Final Scoping Report they should be forwarded to SLR (using the details provided below) by no later than 20 July 2020.

Note: Please use ‘11B12B’ in the subject line in any submissions in this matter.