Overview

• The Western Cape High Court found the exploration-stage environmental assessment failed to account for future greenhouse-gas emissions from potential production.
• Justice Nobahle Mangcu-Lockwood identified defects in public participation, nondisclosure of contingency plans and absence of cross-border impact analysis.
• The judgment overturns the 2023 approval but allows TotalEnergies to correct the assessment and reapply for the permit.
• TotalEnergies and Shell had planned a drilling campaign of up to seven wells starting in 2026 across multiple South African offshore blocks.
• The decision reinforces a trend of stricter judicial scrutiny on offshore oil projects and is likely to delay planned exploration activities.