Please Appeal & Protest against the CGG Seismic Survey authorisation

CGG Services SAS (CGG), has been granted an Environmental Authorisation (see docs below) to undertake a 3D seismic survey in the Algoa/Outeniqua Basin off the Southeast Coast of South Africa. The authorisation was granted on the 16 November 2023, and Interested and Affected Parties were informed on the 23 November. South Africans have a right to appeal this decision and appeals must be submitted by midnight on the 13 December 2030.

The CGG application area is located offshore between Gqeberha and about 120 km southeast of Plettenberg Bay, offshore of the Eastern Cape Province.

Firstly, we are asking that you urgently submit objections. Any RSA citizen can become an Interested & Affected party – the ocean is our commons. These appeals are the only real way we might stop these surveys.

1. Use this appeal Form:

Use each block for laying out the grounds of your argument. Keep it logical & respectful of the reader. use only LHS blocks. You are the Appellant. See the ONO demo below.

2. Send a letter with stating the same grounds in a word document. We have some suggestions below.
3. Send any supporting documents like scientific studies etc
4. You must include a 1 pager confirming, ” This serves to confirm that I, ………………., have complied with Regulation 4(1) of the National Appeal Regulations 2014.”

Address Your Appeal To:

1.Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment: Appeals and Legal Review Directorate
Attention: Director: Appeals and Legal Review
E-mail: appeals@dffe.gov.za
By post: Private Bag X 447, Pretoria, 0001
By hand: Environmental House, c/o Steve Biko and Soutpansberg Street, Arcadia, Pretoria, 0083

Also 2.Department of Mineral Resources and Energy: Legal Services Directorate
Attention: Director: Legal Services
Email: Pieter.Alberts@dmre.gov.za
By fax: 086 710 0877
By post: Private Bag X 59, Arcadia, 0007
By hand: Trevenna Campus Building 2C, c/o Meintjes and Francis Baard Street, Sunnyside, 0007

Petroleum Agency SA
Attention: The Chief Executive Officer
E-mail: EAappeals@petroleumagencysa.com
By post: Private Bag X 5111, Tygervalley, 7536
By hand: Heron Place, Second Floor, Heron Close, Century City, Cape Town, 7441

CGG Services SAS
E-mail: cggsouthcoast@slrconsulting.com
By post/hand: Care of SLR, 5th Floor Letterstedt House, Newlands on Main, Cape Town, 7700

3. You also need to ask CGG Services to provide you with a list of all Interested and Affected Parties to send them copies of your appeal.

Suggestions for arguments:

• The authorisation made use of a Basic Assessment Report (BAR) instead of a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) which is considered inadequate for the complexities of the marine environment.
•   The timing of the surveys during the turtle hatchling and sardine run season.
•   Surveys would surround a Marine Protected Area and Kingklip spawning ground.
•   This has many known impacts not only on the marine life, but the lives and livelihoods of small scale fishing communities.
•   New oil and gas development goes against IPCC and EIA recommendations and would further contribute to global warming.
•   The public participation process was not adequately advertised and did not adequately enable understanding of processes and impacts
•   Coastal economies are founded on healthy marine and terrestrial environments. Impacts to this equate to impacted livelihoods and economies.
•   International climate agreements, to which RSA is party, are being ignored.
•   The right to a healthy environment and rights to workof the people of South Africa, as written in the Constitution of South Africa, are being infringed (, etc

The more objections, the better! Our voices can make a difference to show our government that we demand that oil and gas operations stop and that renewable energy jobs and climate justice start. 

Secondly, we are asking you to join the Mass Action on the 9th of December. Please see the list of beaches and activations on our Events page.

We include in this action objection to the authorisation to Total Energies to drill 10 offshore oil wells on the South Eastern coastline too.

Print a banner from the page too and make your voices heard.

Beachwide action is supported by ONO affiliate the Climate Justice Charter Movement: