TEEPSA ONTTREK

This fact sheet describes a legal challenge brought by The Green Connection (TGC) and Natural Justice (NJ) against the environmental authorisation granted to Total Energies EP South Africa Block 567 (Pty) Ltd for oil and gas exploration off the coast of the Western Cape. It details the grounds for judicial review and reports Total's July 2024 announcement of its intention to withdraw from exploration block 567.

• In July 2024, Total Energies announced its decision to withdraw from offshore exploration block 567, where it held a 40% commercial interest. Following this, Total applied to the High Court to have Shell joined as a party to the ongoing legal proceedings initiated by The Green Connection (TGC) and Natural Justice (NJ).
• TGC and NJ filed for judicial review in the Western Cape High Court in March 2024 to contest the environmental authorisation granted in April 2023 to Total Energies EP South Africa Block 567 (Pty) Ltd for exploration drilling between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas.
• The judicial review is based on six grounds: failure to assess socio-economic impacts of oil spills on small-scale fisheries; failure to consider Integrated Coastal Management Act (ICMA) factors regarding community interests; failure to account for climate change impacts from burning discovered gas; failure to assess transboundary impacts on Namibia and international waters; the absence of blowout and oil spill contingency plans from the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report; and the Petroleum Agency of South Africa (PASA) acting outside its mandate during the appeal process.

APA

Natural Justice (2024). TEEPSA ONTTREK. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Afrikaans-Fact-Sheet-_Block-567.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. TEEPSA ONTTREK. 2024. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Afrikaans-Fact-Sheet-_Block-567.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=TEEPSA ONTTREK |date=29 July 2024 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Afrikaans-Fact-Sheet-_Block-567.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljustice2024teepsa, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{TEEPSA ONTTREK}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Afrikaans-Fact-Sheet-_Block-567.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }