Final chance to comment on Total offshore drilling application
Members of the public have until the end of today to register their comments in terms of the scoping assessment of Total’s application to mine a block of seabed offshore between Mossel Bay and Cape St Francis for gas.
The comment must be submitted to WSP, which is managing the public participation for TotalEnergies Exploration & Production SA.
The block covers about 12,000km², with water depths ranging from 500m to 2,300m.
Total will be seeking to capitalise on the gas already found in the Luiperd and Brulpadda wells off Mossel Bay.
If a production right is acquired, the company will drill six wells and lay infrastructure to transfer extracted gas to the existing PetroSA platform via a 109km pipeline.
Production is expected to last about 20 years.
The company also aims to continue exploration in the block, which will require the drilling of four additional wells and seismic profiling.
The application has raised concerns from sustainable development, environmental, fishing and tourism organisations, most of which were involved last year in trying to stop Shell exploring for gas and oil off the Wild Coast.
Gary Koekemoer, Wildlife and Environment Society Algoa Bay chair and a member of Algoa Bay Ocean Stewards, said yesterday concerns included the great depth at which drilling would be done and the rough conditions on the edge of the continental shelf in the fast-moving Agulhas Current.
“Checking for gas leaks and fixing them if they occur will be extremely difficult, and what damage will be done in the meantime?
“The targeted block lies adjacent to the PE Corals Marine Protected Area [MPA] which is an important conservation zone for protecting endangered bottom feeders like kingklip.
“What about the effect on this MPA?”
He said it was clear from the meeting hosted by WSP and Total in Gqeberha last week that the jobs created would be specialised, and retrenched PetroSA workers would be prioritised above any new applications from the unemployed.
“Related to this, it is highly questionable why WSP decided to have people bused in to public participation meetings in the Bay and all the way up to East London, and yet ignored the communities around Mossel Bay.” He said the aim seemed to be to present evidence of full halls of people participating in the process when WSP presented it to the energy department for approval.
To comment, register on https://wsp-engage.com/total11B12B/, send a WhatsApp to 076-694-3842, or email teepsaEIA@wsp.com