A few Mitchell’s Plain residents mapped the area of their dreams during a community vision building workshop hosted by a petroleum and energy company due to drill off the False Bay coast.
TotalEnergies SE hosted the Mitchell’s Plain vision building workshop at the Alliance Française building, in Portland, on Wednesday June 21.
Participant Marshall Nelson, managing director of the Youth Media Movement, who train youth about artificial intelligence, 3D printing, drone technology, coding, web development, and the internet of things (IoT), said technology could be used for social change.
He said experienced and elderly fishermen could use digital applications to check the weather or operate drones to scan for fish.
But they didn’t have drones or the permits to fly them and many were excluded from opportunities because they did not have the resources or digital savvy.
Community activist Caroline Reeves, 68, from Portland, who assisted with getting children placed at schools, asked for an education hub, for children from age 4.
“They can go there for preschool and pupils can come after school to learn skills and be kept off the streets,” she said.
Ms Reeves, having travelled in her youth, said in other countries children were given an opportunity from a young age to practice various skills, including cooking, baking, woodwork, music, drama and life skills.
“Hoekom moet ons kinders rondloop and be limited to what they can do,” she asked.
Beverley Moffert, principal of Mont Blanc Education, a centre for adult learning, called for a fish factory processing plant.
She said previously a walk-in education centre was planned for Mitchell’s Plain, where the Liberty Promenade shopping centre is today.
Ms Moffert said her father arrived in South Africa, from Brazil, at age 19. He bought a dinghy (small boat) and made it work for him in fishing for crayfish, perlemoen and stockfish.
“We must stand together and we must fight for our children to be taught skills and encourage them to finish school,” she said.
The French multinational integrated energy and petroleum company was given the go-ahead by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) in April, to drill wells between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas.
The Plainsman sent a media enquiry to TotalEnergies on Wednesday June 21.
The Plainsman asked when did they first meet with the community of Mitchell’s Plain; why was it necessary to engage with residents; and whom specifically they were targeting.
“Many at the session were sceptical as to whether their plans, suggestions and dreams would become a reality. Kindly explain or what assurances can you give re: ensuring that these notes would become actionable,” read another question.
In their response they said they needed to collect, provide accurate information and adhere to their internal validation process.
In a statement sent to the Plainsman after the article was published on June 28 2023, TotalEnergies said: “We firmly believe that we need dialogue with our stakeholders and strives to provide honest and useful answers to the questions about what we do.
“TotalEnergies regularly meets with its stakeholders and has been meeting with the community of Mitchell’s Plain since late 2022 (“’Plain vision building,” Plainsman, June 28).
“Drilling operations to determine if there are oil or gas resources consist of creating a borehole about 1m in diameter in the ground on the seabed from a mobile drilling unit (typically 120m long, 75m wide and 20m draft) and inserting steel pipes, called casings, in the borehole secured with cement.
“This process is followed by drilling to deeper depths and by adding reduced-sized casings until the targeted drilling depth is reached.
“Once drilling and logging operations are completed, the exploration well is sealed with cement plugs at various depths down the borehole, tested for integrity, and abandoned according to best international practices.
“A final clearance survey is undertaken using a remote-operated vehicle, after which the drilling unit will be demobilised.
“Should the exploration well be positive, it would take several years to apprise the discovery, assess how to develop it and whether commercial quantities of oil or gas can be developed.
“All TotalEnergies exploration activities in South Africa are located deep offshore, far from the country’s coastline.
“Three blocks are located to the southwest and west offshore Cape Town.
“Within the block, TotalEnergies has focused on a 10 000km² area of interest for exploration located south of Cape Town, approximately 60km from the coast at its closest point and 170km at its furthest, in water depths ranging from 1 000m to 3 200m.
“The first step is to obtain environmental authorisation from the Department of Foresty, Fisheries and the Environment, and various other permits must be obtained, and a drilling unit must be secured for the drilling operations.
“Once all the permits are in place and contracts are issued for the technical drilling services, the drilling date will be confirmed for the various blocks.
“TotalEnergies obtained an environmental authorisation on Monday April 17 for the proposed drilling of up to five exploration wells in Block 5/6/7 off the south west coast of South Africa. TotalEnergies notified the registered interested and affected parties by Friday April 21 of the approval received, which is currently undergoing an appeal period.
“TotalEnergies firmly believes that we need dialogue with our stakeholders and strive to provide honest and useful answers to the questions about what we do.
“Consultations on the exploration activities are undertaken by independent environmental impact assessment practitioners. These processes are assessed based on scientific information and not a voting or consensus-driven process.
“The Minister for the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy is the decision-maker. However, TotalEnergies is engaging with important stakeholders outside of the environmental and social impact assessment process in order to continue working closely with communities, authorities and all interested stakeholders to ensure environmental and social performance best practices.
“It is key to note that the environmental authorisation permits TotalEnergies in South Africa to undertake exploration activities.The exploration activity would not result in the production of oil and gas but rather the generation of information on possible indigenous resources.
“By gaining a better understanding of the extent, nature, and economic feasibility of extracting these potential resources, the viability of developing indigenous resources would be understood.
“While the duration of an exploration drilling is short (three-to-four months) by its nature, thereby presenting minimal demand for local content and local employment in South Africa, it offers potential opportunities for local content in South Africa when it comes to the use of local services providers for logistics, supply base, helicopters, refuelling, catering, goods, accommodation, waste management, etc.
“TotalEnergies puts sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people.”
• This article has been updated with a response from Total Energies since it was published on June 28 2023.
