Shell has suspended seismic exploration activity off South Africa’s east coast, terminating a contract for the Amazon Warrior survey vessel after a High Court ordered it to pause work after a legal challenge by environmental groups.
“As legal hearings about the survey are not yet completed and the weather window for conducting the work is limited, Shell has decided to terminate the current contract for the survey vessel early, in agreement with the contractor,” S&P Global Platts quoted a Shell spokesperson as saying on Wednesday.
“We are looking ahead to a resolution of the outstanding legal case and are considering best way forward for the license in the longer term.”
Judge Gerald Bloem at the South African High Court in Makhanda said Shell had failed to carry out required local consultations and there were concerns over the impact on marine life.
In the Dec. 28 ruling, Judge Bloem said Shell’s right to explore waters near the Wild Coast “was awarded on the basis of a substantially flawed consultation process”.
Shell had entered into a term with Shearwater GeoServices to use the survey vessel Amazon Warrior for its 3D seismic exploration project in South Africa.
The Amazon Warrior was en route to Las Palmas, Spain, on Wednesday, data from Platts cFlow, trade-flow analytics software, showed.
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