1stGenAmerican:
In a case that pitted rural South African communities against the energy giant Shell Global, a judicial panel ordered a halt this week to the company’s plans to explore a pristine coastline for oil and gas, saying the residents were not properly consulted on the project.

In revoking Shell’s rights to explore the seabed of South Africa’s Wild Coast, a panel of three judges sided with rural communities, fishermen, traditional healers and environmental activists against the company and South Africa’s government.

The ruling, delivered on Thursday in a court in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province, sets aside the exploration rights that South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy granted to Shell and a local partner, Impact Africa, in 2014, as well as the government’s decision to renew those rights over the objections of people living on the coastline.

While the court ruling can be appealed, it is uncertain whether Shell or the government will be enthusiastic about a fight. Shell has said it is reviewing the court decision, but in the past it has retreated from projects when public opposition and regulatory hurdles made financial and political costs prohibitively high.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/world/africa/south-africa-shell-oil.html

pacino26:
What a victory to the rural people. But if I know Shell well, they will deploy Directional drilling and still explore from that basin miles away from the disputed coastline.