Green Connection slams EIA approval of Shell’s Northern Cape oil exploration project

The Green Connection, a South African non-profit organisation focused on environmental and social justice, said on Tuesday it notes with deep concern and surprise the recent approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Shell’s proposed Northern Cape Ultra Deep (NCUD) oil and gas exploration project.

Shell has been granted environmental authorisation to drill up to five deep-water wells off South Africa's west coast, the company said on Friday, Reuters reported.

The oil major applied for authorisation last year and plans to drill exploration or appraisal wells in the Northern Cape Ultra Deep Block in the Orange Basin, at water depths ranging between 2 500 metres and 3 200 metres.

Block NCUD is located off the West Coast of South Africa, roughly between Port Nolloth and Saldanha Bay. 

This approval comes despite repeated objections raised by coastal communities and civil society, including detailed submissions by The Green Connection and Natural Justice in August and December 2024.

Advocacy Officer at The Green Connection, Lisa Makaula said, “This EIA authorisation is a slap in the face of the small-scale fishers and communities who have consistently raised concerns about the project and its potential impact on their livelihoods.”

Walter Steenkamp, a small-scale fisher from Port Nolloth, said, “We’ve said before – these oceans are our life. We need a healthy ocean to survive. How can they approve something that could destroy our future? This is why we will not back down.”

Small-scale fisher from Doorn Bay, Deborah de Wee said, “We are deeply disappointed by this decision. We believe that it’s a huge mistake that puts our ocean – and our future – at risk. We don’t want harmful activities like oil and gas drilling in our waters because we depend on the ocean for our daily bread. This is how we survive, and how our people have survived for generations. These projects don’t just threaten our food security – they potentially threaten our entire way of life. If this goes ahead, our children may never experience the ocean the way we did. With this decision, it feels like we are being robbed of our fishing culture. How will we teach the next generation to make a living from the sea when the risks are so high?”

The Green Connection said as the climate crisis appears to intensify, and with mounting evidence of the potential harm oil and gas activities pose to marine biodiversity and small-scale fishers who rely on a healthy ocean, this decision by the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources is deeply troubling. The targeted area forms part of South Africa’s precious ocean heritage and sustains the livelihoods of numerous coastal communities – especially in the Northern Cape, where many already face social and economic vulnerability. 

“Furthermore, despite industry claims, gas is not a transition fuel – it is a fossil fuel that contributes to the climate crisis. Climate scientists confirm that new oil and gas projects are incompatible with limiting warming to 1.5°C. Approving this kind of development now, actively undermines climate action and endangers the very communities it claims to benefit, especially since gas poses more climate risks – due to methane emissions that have 80 times the heating potential of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period,” said Makaula.