By Hajira Khota                                                                                                                                                     23.11.2021

Shell has stated that on December 1, it would begin a seismic survey from Morgan Bay to Port St Johns in search of oil or gas resources. Environmental activists and concerned individuals have launched a petition to prevent Shell from performing seismic explosions off the east coast of South Africa in order to identify oil and gas deposits.

Shell Exploration and Production SA’s hirelings, Shearwater GeoServices, will drag up to 48 air cannons through 6,011km2 of ocean surface over the course of five months, blasting extraordinarily loud shock wave emissions that penetrate 3km of water and 40km into the Earth’s crust beneath the seabed.

The blasts will interfere with the way marine mammals navigate, and that marine life will be damaged by oil or gas drilling in the ocean. Many water species, including whales, dolphins, seals, penguins, sharks, crabs, and tiny shellfish, could be harmed in the coming months.

As of Friday, November 19th, the Oceans Not Oil petition had gathered over 132 000 signatures. Oceans Not Oil is a group of people and organisations dedicated to reducing the country’s reliance on fossil fuels. Prospecting activities off the coast of South Africa are targeted because they have an influence on marine life.

Oceans Not Oil and co-founder of Oil not Oil’s Janet Solomon spoke to Radio Islam International; she says that they are deeply concerned about the governments push to continue with offshore drilling and exploration.

“All this will have an impact on marine life, tourism, hospitality, recreation and climate change”.

South Africa has signed a deal with the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and the European Union to mobilize R131 billion over three to five years to help with the coal transition. The promise was made during the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference, COP26, where countries pledged to reduce coal use, among other things.

Shell said it will continue to work with the government in the country’s energy transformation as part of its oil and gas pursuits, despite global efforts to combat climate change.

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