Block 3B/4B clears its appeals as TotalEnergies presses for the rest of the Orange Basin
South Africa’s environment minister has dismissed all appeals against exploration in TotalEnergies-operated Block 3B/4B, clearing the way for up to five wells off the West Coast. Two days later in Cape Town, Magali Pailhé of TotalEnergies EP South Africa asked government to resolve the appeals still holding back its other blocks.
An environmental authorisation for exploration in Block 3B/4B off South Africa’s West Coast was granted in 2024 by the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources to Africa Oil SA Corp and its partners. Some 47 individuals and environmental organisations appealed against it, Greenpeace Africa among them.
TotalEnergies, which now operates the block, later took up a participating stake along with QatarEnergy, and the authorisation covers up to five exploration wells.
On 13 October, Environmental Affairs Minister David Maynier dismissed all of the appeals in a decision seen by Reuters, attaching conditions on the assessment of food security and the livelihoods of coastal communities. TotalEnergies welcomed the decision and said it would work with the authorities on compliance, including environmental monitoring and marine protection. Greenpeace Africa called it a “critical failure” of environmental governance, and any party can still apply to court for judicial review.
Two days later, at a panel in Cape Town, Magali Pailhé, Managing Director of TotalEnergies EP South Africa, compared South Africa’s pace of drilling with its neighbour’s. She said 25 wells have been drilled in Namibia since 2022, against three in South Africa since 2014.
Pailhé said the company’s proven Orange Basin blocks remain at various stages of appeal and asked for those appeals to be resolved. “We need to unblock these so the potential can be realized,” she said. “The industry is here, but the appeals need to be addressed to allow investment to flow.”
Phumzile Mgcina, Deputy Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, sat on the same panel and called for more investment and infrastructure, backed by policy incentives, to bring South Africa’s resources into use.
