SA department dismisses Shell survey plan outcry

The Department of Mineral Resources & Energy (DMRE) says oil and gas are still part of the energy mix for SA, as it dismissed concerns over the seismic survey to be conducted by Shell. Responding to the public outcry to the arrival of the Amazon Warrior ship in Cape Town, the department said all the environmental requirements for the survey had been met. ‘As part of the application for an exploration right, applicants were required to develop an environmental management programme in terms of the Mineral & Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002, which in this instance was approved in 2013 by the DMRE,’ it said. A Cape Argus report notes that the exploration right was subsequently granted by the department in April 2014. This allows the holder to acquire three-dimensional seismic data during the survey window period, which was usually from December to May, to avoid migratory marine mammals. The department said an independent audit was undertaken last year to confirm that the controls and mitigation measures were still valid. ‘The outcomes of the audit were that the measures contained in the environmental management programme sufficiently provide for the avoidance and mitigation of potential environmental impacts,’ the department said.