Shell, which recently announced it would sell its downstream business in South Africa as part of a global restructuring, has received mixed results in a legal battle over its upstream business.
The High Court said that the right was granted unlawfully because the affected communities were not notified and consulted. This meant that considerations, such as the right to food and livelihoods from the ocean and their spiritual and cultural rights, were overlooked. The SCA upheld this decision, arguing that Impact Africa and Shell’s consultation process for applying for and renewing the exploration right was inadequate and that the choice of print media in English and Afrikaans language newspapers was “more illusory than real.
“Shell is refocusing its business on opening new oil and gas fields that will fuel catastrophic climate change and threaten the lives and human rights of millions of people, particularly in Africa,” said Cormac Cullinan from Cullinan & Associates