South Africa’s legal framework and how it enables the coexistence of marine life alongside upstream oil and gas activities will be at the centre of discussions at a high-level summit in Cape Town on August 25.
This event will be hosted by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) and the Petroleum Agency South Africa (PASA). It is part of a series of events culminating in a colloquium jointly held by the DMRE and DFFE. The August 25 event follows after another “pre-colloquium” Dialogue held in Johannesburg last month (eds: July) unpacking topics related to the environmental impact considerations of upstream oil and gas activities.
Experts from South Africa and abroad will form part of the August 25 “pre-colloquium event”.
Speakers will include oil and gas sector legal specialist Megan Rodgers from Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr and Abongile Ngqongwa Deputy Director: Small-Scale Fisheries Management at the DFFE.
Pedro Garcia, Chairperson of the South African United Fishing Front, is among those to deliver presentations. Another presentation, about a case study on the effect of marine seismic surveys on the movement, abundance and community structure of groundfish in the North West Shelf of Australia, will be one of the highlights. This study will provide practical experiences of the coexistence of the two industries in pursuit of the economic development of Australia.
In South Africa, seismic surveys have been met with resistance from environmental activists who have mounted legal challenges around the consultation processes and the perceived negative effect on marine life.
PASA COO Bongani Sayidini provided factual insights during the July colloquium gathering that SA’s energy security challenges could be addressed if the country’s significant indigenous reserves were embraced and optimally used.
He further alluded that there was no proof that seismic surveys had damaged marine life. Instead, the legal challenges continue to chase investors away. He also indicated that an investment of up to R1 billion was halted within a space of under two months.
PASA estimates that there are potentially 27 billion barrels of oil and 60 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas reserves offshore.
The pre-colloquium events provide a platform for stakeholders to clarify misinformation and assure each other of the world-proven techniques used to ensure the coexistence of the two industries.
These events will help to lead to consistent policy articulation on the contentious issue of taking good care of the environment for future generations against sustainable economic development. The rising inflation of many essential goods that are attributed to high fuel prices are some of the issues which propel the government to look into ways of developing local hydrocarbons – organic compounds consisting of hydrogen and carbon found in crude oil, natural gas, and coal. In addition, continued blackouts due to the loss of baseload power supply that cost the economy between R59 billion and R118 billion in 2019 are among the factors inhibiting economic growth.
As a result, the country is exploring effective and environmentally sensitive ways to develop local oil and gas opportunities. The benefits would include reducing over-reliance on other countries for energy supply. Countries that produce oil tend to have lower fuel prices.
However, notwithstanding the economic benefits of producing local hydrocarbons, potential environmental risks do emanate from the production activity. As such, they need to be managed properly and experts and explorers must communicate these risks and their mitigation strategy to all interested and affected parties.
Event details:
Date: August 25, 2022
Time: 9am – 5pm