A major obstacle to developing the gas economy in South Africa is the relentless legal opposition to oil and gas production and use. There is not a single gas project so far which has not been taken to court, African Energy Corp strategy and business development Dr Phindile Masangane has said.

“Actually, today the environmental authorisation for drilling in our Orange Basin is in court. It started on May 5 and it's ongoing,” she said at the Natural Gas Symposium, in Johannesburg, on May 7.

The legal challenge pertains to TotalEnergies' plans to conduct exploratory drilling in the Deep-Water Orange Basin off South Africa's west coast. Environmental groups and small-scale fishers have filed a lawsuit in the Western Cape High Court, arguing that the government's approval of the project disregards the socioeconomic and environmental impacts on coastal communities reliant on marine resources for their livelihoods.

Masangane said that, to ensure the development of the gas industry, South Africa would do well to look to Namibia as an example, where the oil and gas industry faced a legal challenge only once.

In that instance, the government responded by articulating a clear policy position on the role of oil and gas in the country's economic development and decarbonisation pathway. This approach clarified that pursuing oil and gas projects does not preclude the country's commitment to decarbonisation within the global context. As a result, she said that no subsequent legal challenges have taken place.

However, Masangane noted that in South Africa, the upstream oil and gas industry faces daily legal challenges or “lawfare”. This persistent litigation raises concerns about the country's aspirations to leverage oil and gas resources for economic growth, she said.

The lack of regulatory clarity surrounding gas development is a key issue, Masangane said, highlighting a contradiction between national plans: “The gas master plan says we must accelerate the development of our offshore resources. But do you know what the marine spatial planning plan says? It says conserve 50% of it and make sure you don't build any pipelines. This is a true story.”

Masangane questioned the practicality of making discoveries in areas that are not biologically sensitive if there are restrictions on bringing the gas onshore.

“So, you can make discoveries in an area which is not biologically sensitive, but look what use is it to make those discoveries if you can't take the gas onshore. That's what we face as the upstream industry,” she said.

Addressing the broader energy landscape, Masangane acknowledged the appeal of renewable energy but cautioned against differing interpretations of the energy transition.

“We all like renewables but there are people we know who interpret the energy transition differently. And now, if you've got those plans coming out and there is no clarity in terms of the gas master plan itself. This spells trouble,” she said.

Masangane emphasised the complexity of the policy framework under which gas industry has to operate.

“Overlaying this are all the other factors that are affecting our economy, a constrained fiscus, jobs, other countries putting out carbon trading policies, and then you've got deindustrialisation hitting the country. This is the policy framework under which [we are] trying to work and under which you are trying to make investments. It's complex,” she said.