Two environmentalist groups have challenged in court French oil major TotalEnergies’ plans to drill five wells offshore South Africa.
TotalEnergies acquired a 33% stake in an exploration block offshore South Africa earlier in March.
Despite the apparent risks, TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy are moving ahead with their exploration effort off the South-African coast.
A World Bank blog makes the case for green hydrogen becoming a major economic driver for the economy.
South Africa is preparing to appoint a new chief executive officer of state oil and gas company PetroSA, ending a more than yearlong leadership vacuum, Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said.
TotalEnergies has received government approval for drilling in South Africa’s Orange Basin, a key part of the company’s plans in the country.
Environmental groups have been resisting TotalEnergies’ efforts due to concerns about the impact on marine life and the risk of oil spills.
TotalEnergies has strategically shifted its focus in the country from downstream activities and is now fully focused on its upstream operations.
On 9 December, people across the country united in local actions against oil and gas exploration and drilling off South Africa’s coastline. Multinational corporations – including Shell, QatarEnergy, Total Energies and contractors such as CGG and Searcher Seismic – are amongst the focal points of this latest public outrage. According to Liziwe McDaid, Strategic Lead at The Green Connection (one of the civil society organisations that got in on the action), “Recent decisions by government to authorise seismic surveys in the Algoa/Outeniqua Basin off the Southeast Coast of South Africa and also off the West Coast, in addition to decision to reject the environmental appeal against oil and gas exploration, from Gansbaai on the South Coast to Doring Baai on the West Coast, has been the catalyst for these actions.”
Total Energies Marketing South Africa is divesting its 36.36 percent minority stake in National Petroleum Refiners of South Africa (Natref) to the Prax Group.
Since the discovery of oil in commercial quantities in 2007, Ghana’s petroleum industry has witnessed remarkable growth.
South Africa is one step closer to having a new entity in charge of petroleum in the country, with a significant merger between PetroSA and other Central Energy Fund (CEF) subsidiaries progressing.
One small-scale miner was killed and four injured as security forces moved to evict them from a concession held by Ghana’s Golden Star Resources.
Malaysia’s national oil and gas company Petronas has reached agreement to sell its entire 74% majority stake in South Africa’s Engen to Vivo Energy, one of the largest African fuel retail operators and part of multinational energy company Vitol.