And when you’re finished, what will the world feel like?

As is their wont, oil major applications stack in thick and fast over the festive season whilst the public they affect rest and let down their guard. Whilst TotalEnergies more than doubled its profits this year compared to last, benefiting from higher oil and gas prices – and despite its write downs from its many Russian joint ventures, they obviously view the high-risk, low-reward, enormous expense of deep sea exploration and extraction as still able to turn more profit. And so, with ANC government enablement, and without considering their immense environmental cost, they come. Production averages about 5 – 7 years, coming online right in time for cutting global emissions. We’ll be experiencing once-in-a-century heat waves every other year by then.

TotalEnergies’ EP South Africa B.V. (TEEPSA) together with its joint venture partners, QatarEnergy, CNR International (South Africa) Limited, and a South African consortium, MainStreet 1549 is applying for a Production Right to allow for the development and production of gas and associated condensate in Licence Block 11B/12B, offshore from the Southern Cape coast, South Africa.

As part of the Production Right application process, an application for an Environmental Authorisation (EA) in terms of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act 107 of 1998) (NEMA) (as amended) must also be submitted. The application for EA must be supported by a Scoping and Environmental Impact Assessment (S&EIA) process in accordance with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations, 2014 (GN R.326), as amended. The EA application must be submitted to the Petroleum Agency of South Africa (PASA) for a recommendation to the Minister of Minerals and Energy, who will decide on whether to grant the Production Right and EA.

TEEPSA has appointed WSP Group Africa (Pty) Ltd as the independent Environmental Assessment Practitioner to undertake the ESIA and public participation process.

The Draft Scoping Report is available for public review from Thursday 01 December 2022 until Friday 03 February 2023.

Please see below the Non-Technical Summary (NTS) of the Draft Scoping Report for more information.

Please contact the Public Participation Office at Tel: (011) 254 4800 | WhatsApp: 076 694 3842 | E-mail:teepsaEIA@WSP.com / gld.teepsaesia@wsp.com or visit the WSP website at https://www.wsp.com/en-za/services/public-documents or the data-free website at https://wsp-engage.com/Total-11B12B/, or scan in the QR below, to:

§  Obtain a list of public places where hard copies of the Draft Scoping Report and Non-Technical Summary are available for public inspection.

§  Register online as an I&AP.

§  Obtain more information about the public meetings.

§  Download an electronic copy of the full Draft Scoping Report.

§  Download an electronic copy of the Non-Technical Summary in isiXhosa or Afrikaans.

§  Listen to an audio of the Non-Technical Summary in English, isiXhosa, or Afrikaans.

Public meetings: 

WSP will convene public meetings as part of the ESIA process in December 2022 and in January 2023. We invite you to attend a virtual public meeting on Wednesday 07 December 2022 from 17h30 to 19h30. Please contact the WSP Public Participation Office to register for, and receive a link to, the virtual public meeting. We will share the details of theface-to-face public meetings to be convened in January 2023 with I&APs closer to the time.

Please participate in this project and the public meetings.

Please feel free to contact the WSP Public Participation Office if you require more information.

Tel: (011) 254 4800 | WhatsApp: 076 694 3842 | E-mail: teepsaEIA@wsp.com / gld.teepsaesia@wsp.com