The regulation of offshore seismic surveys for petroleum resources in South Africa’s maritime realm

• Date: 14 December 2017
• Published date: 14 December 2017
• Author: Surbun, V.
• Pages: 129-157
• Citation: (2016) 22 SAJELP 129

129

THE REGULATION OF OFFSHORE

SEISMIC SURVEYS FOR PETROLEUM

RESOURCES IN SOUTH AFRICA’S

MARITIME REALM*

Vishal Surbun†

Advances in technology are transforming the way oil is found and extracted,

and this has opened up the vast energy potential of South Africa’s maritime

realm. In this regard, specialist hydrographic survey vessels explore the sub-sea

geological formations for potential oil and gas reserves. This article considers

the environmental impact of these surveys on marine ecosystems and examines

the legislative framework for regulating seismic surveys under the Mineral and

Petroleum Resources Development Act of 2002 (MPRDA). It then examines,

in detail, the change in the legislative regime to bring the environmental

authorisations – in terms of the MPRDA – to the system under the National

Environmental Management Act, 1998 (NEMA), and its practical application

to seismic surveys. Finally, the 2012 Amendment Bill to the MPRDA and the

consequences with regard to seismic surveys, are discussed.

1 BACKGROUND

The primary energy source in South Africa is coal. With proven

reserves of 55 billion tons, the country is the sixth largest

producer in the world.1 Notwithstanding these ample reserves,

with population growth in the country increasing and with an

increased demand for energy, there is a need to diversify energy

* Paper presented at the Maritime and Marine Law Conference, hosted by

the NRF Research Chair in the Law of the Sea, the Maritime Law Association

of South Africa, and the South African Chapter of the International Law

Association, at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth,

14November 2014. The writer is thankful to Prof. Ed Couzens and Ms.Melissa

Lewis for their helpful inputs in conceiving certain aspects of this article,

together with the reviewers of this article for their useful suggestions. All

internet sources cited herein were accurate, as at December 2014.

† LLB LLM (Maritime Law) (UKZN), Lecturer, School of Law, University

of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban; Attorney and Notary Public of the High Court of

RSA.

1 Petroleum Agency SA ‘Petroleum Exploration in South Africa,

Information and Opportunities’ (November 2010) at 2 para 7, available at www.

petroleumagencysa.com/index.php/petroleum-geology-resources/brochure

(2016) 22 SAJELP 129

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130 SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND

POLICY

sources.2 Local exploration for energy sources and the discovery

and exploitation thereof could help reduce oil imports, which

account for about 60 per cent of the country’s 550 000 barrel-

a-day demand.3 South Africa’s dependency on oil has been

described as its ‘Achilles Heel regarding economic security’.4

However, reports indicate that if there is a discovery of significant

volumes of oil reserves, it could fundamentally change the energy

infrastructure and economy of the country, with the introduction

of cheaper domestic energy.5

Advances in exploration technology are transforming the

way oil is found and extracted and this has made more extensive

exploration activities commercially and technically viable.6 Thus,

Schotman7 states that ‘we, as an [oil] industry, are now able to

see what we had not previously been able to see and find what

we had not previously been able to find’.8 These advancements

in technology have opened and introduced the vast energy

potential offshore. South Africa’s coastline is 3650 km long9 and

stretches from the Garieb (Orange) River in the north-west to the

Mozambique border in the north-east of the country. Adjacent to

2 Ibid. The United States Energy Information Administration defines crude

oil as a “mixture of hydrocarbons that exists as a liquid in natural underground

reservoirs and remains a liquid when brought to the surface. Petroleum

products are produced from the processing of crude oil and other liquids at

petroleum refineries, from the extraction of liquid hydrocarbons at natural gas

processing plants, and from the production of finished petroleum products

at blending facilities. Petroleum is a broad category that includes both crude

oil and petroleum products. The terms oil and petroleum are sometimes used

interchangeably.” See www.eia.gov/tool/faqs.cfm?id=40&t=6.

3 Paul Burkhardt ‘SA gears up for the rush of energy explorers’ (8 January

2013) Business Day at 6.

4 Terry Hutson ‘The hunt for oil’ Business in Durban Summer 2012 at

10-12

5 Burkhardt n3 at 6.

6 Jill Stanford ‘SA opens to deep sea oil, gas explorers’ Engineering News

8 February 2002 para 10, available at www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/sa-

opens-to-deepsea-oil-gas-explorers-2002-02-08

7 Gerald Schotman, Shell’s Chief Technology Officer.

8 ‘Soon the world will be flooded with oil’ Sunday Times, Business Times

24 February 2013 at 5.

9 B McLean & J I Glazewski ‘Marine Systems’ in Strydom & King (ed)

Environmental Management in South Africa 2 ed (2009) 456

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