Uproar over coastal seismic survey approval
PLETTENBERG BAY - Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has been asked to elevate the environmental concerns about seismic surveys and deep-sea gas drilling along the southern coast of South Africa to central government.
In an open letter to Winde on behalf of the Plettenberg Bay Community Environment Forum, Julie Carlisle asked Winde for help to respect "our voices and our needs".
The letter says, "The coastline of South Africa faces an onslaught by multi-national organisations from the north, intent on using South Africa in their frenzied grab for resources, and ultimately, money."
The decision to grant approval for a seismic survey between Plettenberg Bay and Gqeberha was announced last week, shortly after protesters took to the streets of Plett in opposition to the plan to conduct deepsea gas drilling between Mossel Bay and Plettenberg Bay.
'Not any detrimental risks'
On 16 November, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) granted an environmental authorisation to conduct the seismic survey to the UK-based international company CGG Services SAS (CGG).
DMRE Director General Jacob Mbele said his department "is satisfied" that the proposed activities will not be in conflict with the objectives of the Integrated Environmental Management and will not result in any detrimental risks to the environment and public.
The application area is located offshore of the Eastern Cape Province, between Gqeberha and Plettenberg Bay, about 120km to the south-east. It covers several petroleum licence blocks and covers an area of about 21 750km2.
If the seismic survey granted to CGG goes ahead, it will cross various concession blocks where gas drilling can potentially take place in future. Objectors have 20 days to respond.
According to documentation, the survey will take four to five months to complete, starting from January 2024. It needs to be completed within two years of the approval date.
'Voices of the people ignored'
The forum wrote to Winde that the list of areas off South Africa's coastline that are targeted by Karpowships, Total Energies, Shell and CGG is terrifying.
"A wall of machinery is headed to our oceans, to the detriment of our country, and our government is directing traffic and providing easy access to our resources, with no benefit to coastal communities. South Africa is, apparently, a democracy," the letter reads.
"Despite this, despite thousands of signatures, many protests, many news items, thousands of letters of objection, the voices of the people of our country are being ignored. We challenge you to take a moment to stop, give consideration to the entire picture of mining in our seas, and consider a coastline where fishers can no longer survive, where tourism has died, where poverty rules.
“And picture a sea dotted with oil and gas rigs, pipelines and platforms and a desperate remembrance of a thriving marine habitat, where whales came to breed, dolphins wove their leaping through waves and fisher communities were content."
What seismic survey entails
The CGG acquisition involves the generation of high-level, low frequency sound pulses by an acoustic cousti instrument towed by a survey y vessel.
A seismic sound ound source and solid multiple hydrophone streamers are proposed.
The hydrophones would be approximately 6 000m to 12 000m long. Between eight and 12 streamers would be towed at a depth of between six and 30m below the sea surface. The streamers will not be visible, except for the tail-buoy at the terminal end of the cable.
Two air gun arrays with an operating pressure of 2 000 pounds per square inch (psi) will be spaced p 50m to 100m from each other.
Approximately 18 active air guns per air gun array will be employed.