Petroleum Africa
Find us on: 
Thursday, December 8, 2022
Release
Concerned citizens from Port Nolloth in Northern Cape to Saldanha and Cape Town to Knysna and Beaufort West in Western Cape, all the way to Gqeberha and Xolobeni Eastern Cape, Durban, and Richards Bay in KZN and even inland in Johannesburg – came out to peacefully protest the Total Destruction of the ocean and to demand an end of the exploration and extraction of any new climate change-escalating fossil fuel projects. Demonstrators around the country are raising the alarm and creating widespread public awareness that the government and the oil and gas industry are not taking the climate crisis seriously, as efforts to further explore for and extract offshore oil and gas are ramped-up.
“The world is in a climate crisis, which means we should be making moves to (eventually, but steadily) cancel all fossil fuels, not discover more fossil fuel reserves and increase production – this contradicts the energy transition currently under way. We believe that all applications for new projects should be stopped and that companies like TotalEnergies should instead invest their huge profits to transition away from fossil fuels,” says The Green Connection’s Community Outreach Coordinator Neville van Rooy.
The picket forms part of civil society mobilizing for a just energy transition and is The Green Connection’s collaboration with French NGO Bloom, which kicked-off in October 2022 is part of this mobilization. The campaign OceanTotalDestruction calls out the French-based company, which continues to reap significant profits (up 131%) from offshore oil and gas exploration and production, at the expense of the climate and exposing healthy oceans and the dignity and livelihoods of those who depend on it at risk of a major oil spill.
“The climate crisis comes with a lot of uncertainty and, as a result, we must protect our precious natural resources from harm. The ocean not only helps us mitigate climate change but is also critical to food security for coastal communities, while sustaining the livelihoods of thousands of small-scale (subsistence) fishers. However, even though COP27 just ended a few of weeks ago, fossil fuel companies have already released a stream of oil and gas application documents for public comment (in South Africa), with TotalEnergies leading the charge,” says van Rooy
He says that The Green Connection recently made no less than five (5) submissions on applications to either conduct offshore seismic surveys and/or for exploration and production activities, with TotalEnergies having an interest in most. Civil society is particularly concerned about the environmental authorization applications by TotalEnergies SA to undertake exploration well drilling in the Deep Western Orange Basin License Block (off the West Coast of South Africa) and in License Block 5/6/7 (off the Southwestern Coast of South Africa), as well as an application for authorization to undertake production drilling and related activities in License Block 11B/12B off Mossel Bay.
“With France supposedly being such a key player in global climate action efforts, it seems hypocritical that one of its largest companies are allowed to pursue extractive fossil fuel projects here in the Global South. But Total is not the only problem. We also have to contend with multiclient seismic survey companies like Searcher and TGS, as well as the contentious Karpowership gas -to-power projects planned for three South African ports. None of these are good for the climate or for the people,” says van Rooy.
The Green Connection’s Advocacy Officer Kholwani Simelane says, “We have to question, is there a link between South Africa not having an integrated energy plan (IEP) and the energy crises? Since energy is the lifeblood of the economy, impacting all sectors including individual livelihoods, integrated and inclusive energy planning is critical to ensure that current and future energy needs are met in the most environmentally sustainable, cost effective, efficient, and socially beneficial ways, while also taking climate change into account.”
“In the absence of a proper IEP, the Minister of Energy seems unwilling or unable to sustainably address the energy shifts demanded by climate change and load shedding , not to mention the deepening energy poverty in this country. In a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, The Green Connection highlighted that without an IEP as a roadmap to guide energy infrastructure investments and policy development, South Africa will take even longer to adapt to the climate reality we face, and it will make it that much harder to achieve a transition that is indeed just and equitable. Because, if done properly, the IEP would enable a sustainable, bottom-up way of looking at energy development,” adds Simelane.
In a memorandum, handed over to Total representative in Johannesburg, The Green Connection and other civil society groups – including Extinction Rebellion South Africa, Equal Education, V.E.J.A., FRACK FREE South Africa, Project90 By 2030, Bloom, Oceans Not Oil, 350Africa.org, Don’t Gas Africa, Care For Environment, Centre For Citizens Conserving Environment and Management, GREENLEAF Advocacy And Empowerment Centre – made four critical demands. They call on TotalEnergies to publicly announce that it will abandon all new hydrocarbon exploration and production projects being developed (and pursued) off the South African coast, and to divest the $3 billion to launch oil and gas operations in South Africa’s waters in areas of spectacular marine biodiversity, which could be at the expense of wildlife and especially the small-scale fishers’ livelihoods.
Couple this with the call to rapidly move away from fossil fuels and shift towards renewable energy and begin a process of financial compensation for the Loss and Damage sustained by South Africa’s communities affected by climate change, in partnership with South Africa’s Presidential Climate Commission. Government should be accountable to the people. That includes in its decisions about energy that impact our future health and wellbeing.
For the full press release, more information and images, or to sign the petition, visit The Green Connection’s Who Stole Our Oceans campaign, go to www.thegreenconnection.org.za.
" alt="First LNG Realized at the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim Project">
" alt="United Energy Acquires Western Desert Producer APEX">
" alt="Baker Hughes Announces Major Gas Technology Orders for Venture Global LNG">
" alt="ReconAfrica: Naingopo Results Demonstrate a Working Petroleum System">
" alt="Tullow Highlights 2025 Operational Plans in Ghana">
" alt="TotalEnergies to Supply 1.5 TWh to STMicroelectronics in France Over 15 years">
" alt="Rockhopper Reaches Final Settlement with United on Egypt’s Abu Sennan Concession">
" alt="Oil & Gas Crucial for African Growth: AEC Calls for Industry Support to Defend African Market">
