“Nothing about us without us”: Fishers fight TotalEnergies exploration plans

Mar 24, 2026 · 1166 words · By Lerato Mutsila

📰 Original article: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-03-24-nothing-about-us-without-us-f…

Fact-Check Results

“Aukotowa Fisheries, The Green Connection and Natural Justice asked the Western Cape Division of the High Court in Cape Town to overturn the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s 2023 decision to grant TotalEnergies environmental authorisation for offshore exploration in the Deep Sea Orange Basin.”

❓ INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE — No evidence found in archive to confirm or refute the legal action described.

“The case is about more than who gets to drill where, but pits the government’s and TotalEnergies’ strategy bid for petroleum resource identification against the livelihood concerns of small-scale fishing communities, in addition to climate change and environmental considerations.”

❓ INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE — No evidence found in archive to verify the scope of disputes described.

“Fishing communities and community members held a protest outside the court, calling for more consultation.”

❓ INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE — No evidence found in archive to confirm the protest activity described.

“Walter Steenkamp, chairperson of Aukotowa Fisheries, stated that the community wanted the right to self-determination and that the minister overruled their decisions.”

❓ INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE — No evidence found in archive to verify Walter Steenkamp's statements.

“The DMRE failed to conduct a proper 'need and desirability assessment by exploration, which is linked to production, and the climate impacts of future gas extraction should be assessed now.”

❓ INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE — No evidence found in archive to assess the DMRE's evaluation process.

“The environmental authorisation was granted based on the fact that a blowout would be 'highly unlikely', without sufficient justification, and that spill modelling underestimated the impact on marine protected environments.”

❓ INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE — No evidence found in archive to evaluate the justification for the authorization.

“The Socioeconomic Impact Assessment was not properly assessed, and failed to account for the survival risks to small-scale fishing communities that depended on marine resources.”

❓ INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE — No evidence found in archive to verify the Socioeconomic Impact Assessment.

“The DMRE failed to consider the impact of exploration on coastal public property, as required by Section 63 of the ICMA.”

❓ INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE — No evidence found in archive to confirm DMRE's compliance with ICMA Section 63.

“Port Nolloth is a small coastal village in the Northern Cape, the largest province in South Africa with the smallest population, and has an unemployment rate of 27.1%.”

❓ INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE — No evidence found in archive to verify demographic statistics about Port Nolloth.

“Fishing has become a cornerstone of employment in Port Nolloth, which was once a diamond mining hub in the 1920s but transitioned to fishing after the diamond boom declined.”

❓ INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE — No evidence found in archive to confirm historical economic transitions in Port Nolloth.

“The government stated that 358 offshore wells had been drilled in South African waters with zero recorded blowouts.”

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“Walter Steenkamp expressed concern that while compensation is needed, it would not prevent destitution if fish and income are lost.”

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“Mark Cohen and Alan Krupnick argued that Deepwater Horizon risk assessments did not account for water depths or volumes, leading to underestimated spill impacts.”

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“TotalEnergies EP South Africa (Teepsa) maintains it is fully insured and that any loss of earnings by small-scale fishers would be fully compensated.”

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“Environmental groups and Aukotowa Fisheries expressed concern that the compensation process would have limited efficacy in the short term, leaving fishers destitute.”

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“TotalEnergies' counsel argued that the statistical probability of a blowout was 0.0143%.”

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“The Deepwater Horizon disaster prompted the creation of the South African Interim Incident Management Organisation and the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) to enhance preparedness.”

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“A process involving the government, insurers, and TotalEnergies would be initiated to determine economic effects and issue compensation in case of an oil spill.”

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“The Deepwater Horizon oil spill occurred on April 20, 2010, resulting in 11 fatalities, the rig sinking, and a catastrophic oil leak of over 507 million liters.”

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“The applicants argued that the Environmental Impact Assessment rated the effect of a blowout as 'high' or 'very high,' deeming the risk unacceptable.”

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“Walter Steenkamp concluded the interview with the statement, 'Nothing about us without us.'”

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“Environmental groups and fishers argue that exploration cannot be decoupled from production, and the DMRE cannot authorize exploration without assessing the environmental consequences of burning the extracted gas.”

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“Judgment in the Orange Basin case has been reserved for a later date, with the case defining the boundaries of administrative action in South Africa’s energy transition.”

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“Fishing is central to the life, culture, and heritage of the Port Nolloth community, representing a fundamental way of living.”

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“The State maintains that exploration (Section 79) and production (Section 83) are distinct phases, with exploration being a three-year information-gathering process and production a 30-year commercial endeavor, making it legally impossible to assess production impacts during exploration.”

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