AEC applauds critical South Africa High Court energy ruling
The African Energy Chamber has applauded the South African High Court’s decision to allow
multinational oil and gas company Shell to conduct seismic surveys offshore South Africa.Following an 11th-hour
attempt by environmentalists to halt the surveys along the eastern coast of
South Africa, the court ruled in favor of the oil supermajor which is now free
to proceed with the application to halt the operations having failed to produce
evidence of irreparable harm to the marine environment in the region.
The surveys, meant to commence on
December 1, 2021 will involve the discharge of pressurized air to generate
sound waves for the exploration of petroleum resources.
Following 325 seismic surveys
conducted by the oil giant globally, there’s no evidence to suggest these forms
of surveys cause irreparable harm to the environment, yielding no reports of
death or harm to local ecosystems or marine life.
“South Africa needs energy.
That’s the bottomline. The court’s refusal to stop Shell’s exploration
activities on the basis that doing so will cause irreparable harm to the
environment is seen as a victory for those who wish to see Africa pull itself
out of energy poverty. Africa deserves the opportunity to capitalize on its own
oil and gas resources and we must be able to exploit these resources in order
to benefit from our continent’s full potential,” NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman,
African Energy Chamber, said.
Recent discoveries of oil and gas
in southern Africa have resulted in the potential to drastically improve the
region’s socio-economic prospects, powering industries and spurring economic
development and growth.
The oil and gas industry supports
millions of jobs worldwide and offers Africa the opportunity to industrialize
and ensure energy security.
South Africa needs much more
energy, and Shell’s investment in the country will help fix the country’s
current energy crisis. South Africa’s population and its businesses need
low-cost reliable energy that will enable millions of South Africans to benefit
from the miracles of an industrialized economy that makes us productive and
prosperous.
“The court ruling is a strong
recognition that skyrocketing energy prices are a failure of the radical green
energy policies that will create volatility in the market and increase energy
poverty,” Ayuk added.
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