Shell has received environmental authorization to drill up to five deepwater wells to explore for oil and gas off the west coast of South Africa.
“Should viable resources be found offshore, this could significantly contribute to? South Africa’s energy security and the government’s economic development programmes,” the super major said in a statement carried by Reuters.
The company did not provide details of the drilling plans.
Shell applied last year for environmental authorizations to drill ultra-deepwater wells offshore South Africa, targeting drilling in the Northern Cape Ultra Deep Block (NCUD) in the Orange Basin off South Africa’s west coast.
Previous attempts by Shell to drill offshore South Africa have ended up in court as environmental campaigners have challenged oil and gas exploration activities.
Analysts believe some offshore formations that South Africa shares with the offshore areas of Namibia – the latest deepwater exploration hotspot – could hold great resource potential.
Shell and another supermajor, TotalEnergies, have already made large discoveries offshore Namibia, in the same Orange Basin that spans South African and Namibian waters.
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