GEORGE NEWS - Georgians had the opportunity to attend a public information meeting regarding the offshore gas mining rights application of TotalEnergies EP South Africa (Teepsa) in an area of 12 000km² between Mossel Bay and Cape St Francis.
It was held on Wednesday 18 January at the Thembalethu Community Hall and was attended by about 100 people.
One of the presenters, Eduard Groenewald, health, safety and environmental manager at Teepsa (South Africa and Namibia), said they have no offset takers for the gas yet, but are looking for a domestic and regional market.
In particular, PetroSA and Eskom are in their sights. PetroSA could start producing liquid fuel again, and Eskom could have an alternative fuel source for power generation at the Gourikwa power station outside Mossel Bay for about 20 years.
As reported by journalist Louise Karsten in George Herald last week, they are applying to convert their exploration rights obtained a few years ago to production rights after gas discoveries in 2019.
Six production wells will be located in the production area in the vicinity of the existing wells, namely Brulpadda 1AX and Luiperd-1X exploration wells. A subsea production pipeline of 109 km is required from Luiperd to the existing PetroSA F-A Platform.
Georgians' opinions
During question time, Quaanitah Simons, a Kleinkrantz resident, expressed a concern harboured by several others at the meeting, namely how the local community would be benefitting from the project in a tangible way and what direct labour and contracting opportunities would be available.
Scepticism about real job opportunities for locals during the construction and production period was aired by a number of people.
The perception was that the project would require more specialised skills. A concern was also raised about the project's possible effect on the fishing community as the mining activities would impact the fish population.
About 100 people attended the information meeting in the Thembalethu Community Hall. Photo: Alida de Beer
Environmental issues
Muriel Hau-Yoon, a local environmental activist, was worried about the environmental impact of seismic blasting and oil spills. She said during seismic blasting in 2019/2020 in the exploration period, a high number of beached whales was recorded between Still Bay and Wilderness. An oil spill along the Garden Route Coast in December 2022 is still being tracked.
Another resident who is concerned about the environmental impact, Pauline Cloete, told the newspaper after the meeting that drilling would be taking place in a highly sensitive area.
"The Agulhas Current that runs through the area is one of the main migration routes for marine species. It is a 25-plus year project from the start of installing infrastructure until the end of the mining period. They will be drilling at maximum capacity for 20 years.
"The current application process is not in balance with the scope of the project and I truly hope that green organisations will oppose this in a bold way."
In response to these concerns, Groenewald said skills and enterprise development programmes would be run for local communities. The social and labour plan has not been developed yet and it is a separate process that will also involve public participation. The impact of the project on the environment would be duly investigated as part of the environmental impact assessment.
To register as an interested and affected party, contact WSP Group Africa on 011 254 4800 / WhatsApp 076 694 3842 / e-mail teepsaEIA@wsp.com or gld.teepsaESIA@wsp.com.
The draft scoping report is available at the online link www.wsp.com/en-za/services/public-documents.
Public meetings being held in various towns along the coast in the affected area form part of the public participation process in the scoping and environmental impact assessment phase of the application.
'We bring you the latest George, Garden Route news'
