South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has granted French major TotalEnergies environmental authorization to conduct exploration activities in the offshore Block 5/6/7, located in an area approximately 10,000km² between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas.
The decision follows the conclusion of all prescribed procedural requirements by TotalEnergies, including public consultation and environmental checks, with the major expected to drill up to five exploration wells between Q4 this year and mid-2024.
Representing a high-potential block – the area overlaps the Orange Basin where three sizeable oil and gas discoveries were made in 2022/23 by TotalEnergies, Shell and Qatar Energy in the Namibian side – Block 5/6/7’s exploration rights lie with TotalEnergies alongside global major Shell and the Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa.
