en.Wedoany.com Reported - Oil and gas drilling activities in South Africa's Orange Basin Block 3B/4B still face uncertainty, even as an expert panel is being assembled to review appeals against the environmental authorization. These exploration activities can commence once environmental approval is obtained, but the review timeline remains unclear.

South Africa's Department of Mineral Resources and Energy granted environmental authorization on September 16, 2024, allowing exploration activities in Block 3B/4B of the Orange Basin, with up to five wells to be drilled. However, the country's legislative notification and appeal process was temporarily suspended due to an application for leave to appeal arising from the judgment concerning Block 5/6/7, held by TotalEnergies and Shell. Meren Energy (formerly Africa Oil) indicated that the suspension was lifted in March 2026, and an expert panel is currently being appointed to review the environmental authorization appeal process and make recommendations to the Minister, though the specific timeline remains undetermined.

TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy took over operatorship of Block 3B/4B from Africa Oil at the end of August 2024, with the former acting as operator. The block is located 120 to 250 kilometers off the west coast of South Africa, covering an area of 17,581 square kilometers, with water depths ranging from 300 to 2,500 meters. The operator has stated that once the environmental authorization is confirmed, the first exploration well will be drilled immediately, targeting the Nayla prospect in the northwestern part of the license area. The block is situated south of the multi-billion-barrel discoveries made by Shell (Graff and Jonker) and TotalEnergies (Venus) offshore Namibia.

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