ISICELO SOKUDIBANISA 5/6/7

The document details a judicial review application by Green Connection and Natural Justice to set aside the environmental authorization (EA) granted to TotalEnergies EP South Africa Block 567 (Pty) Ltd for offshore oil drilling between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas. It lists six grounds for review, including failures to assess socio-economic impacts on small-scale fishers, climate change impacts from gas combustion, and transboundary risks to Namibia. Additionally, it notes that TotalEnergies announced its withdrawal from Block 567 in July 2024 and is now seeking to have Shell joined as a party to the legal proceedings, a request opposed by the applicants.

• Green Connection (TGC) and Natural Justice (NJ) are challenging the environmental authorization (EA) granted to TotalEnergies EP South Africa Block 567 (Pty) Ltd for oil exploration between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas on six grounds: failure to assess socio-economic impacts on small-scale fishers, failure to consider the 'public interest' as defined by the Integrated Coastal Management Act (ICMA), failure to assess climate change impacts from gas combustion, failure to consider transboundary impacts on Namibia, the absence of oil spill response plans in the EIA, and the unlawful involvement of the Petroleum Agency of South Africa (PASA) in the decision process.
• The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report is criticized for failing to properly evaluate the socio-economic consequences of oil spills on coastal communities and small-scale fishers, despite acknowledging that oil spills are among the most concerning environmental risks of offshore drilling.
• The authorization process failed to account for climate change impacts resulting from the combustion of any gas discovered, which the applicants argue is a legal requirement based on previous court cases such as Earthlife Africa (2017) and Sustaining the Wild Coast (2021).
• TotalEnergies announced its decision to withdraw from offshore exploration in Block 567 in July 2024, which may impact the consortium's investment and operational responsibilities as Total held a 40% commercial interest.
• Total has requested that Shell be joined as a party to the legal proceedings initiated by TGC and NJ, but the applicants oppose this on the grounds that the EA was granted to Total, not Shell, and that Shell's exploration rights have expired.

APA

Natural Justice (n.d.). ISICELO SOKUDIBANISA 5/6/7. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/isiXhosa-Fact-Sheet-_Block-567.pdf

Chicago

Natural Justice. ISICELO SOKUDIBANISA 5/6/7. n.d. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/isiXhosa-Fact-Sheet-_Block-567.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=ISICELO SOKUDIBANISA 5/6/7 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/isiXhosa-Fact-Sheet-_Block-567.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljusticendisicelo, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{ISICELO SOKUDIBANISA 5/6/7}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/isiXhosa-Fact-Sheet-_Block-567.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }