S. African Court Halts Approval for TotalEnergies Oil Block

An oil rig in the harbor off of Cape Town, South Africa.

Photographer: Pieter Bauermeister/Bloomberg

A South African court overturned a decision granting TotalEnergies SE environmental authorization for an oil exploration block offshore the country’s west coast.

The Western Cape High Court ruled that the environmental impact assessment for Total’s Block 5/6/7 was “deeply flawed, failing to address key risks, legal requirements, and public participation,” Green Connection, one of the environmental groups that brought the case, said in a statement.