TotalEnergies seeks approval to develop gas discoveries offshore South Africa

(Bloomberg) — TotalEnergies SE has applied for environmental authorization toward developing its gas discoveries offshore South Africa.

The move forms part of a production right application in Block 11B/12B, which is available for public comment, according a draft scoping report published online.

Development of the block could potentially revive state-owned PetroSA’s 45,000-barrel-a-day Mossel Bay gas-to-liquids plant, which has run out of feedstock. South Africa also plans to use the fuel to transition away from coal that’s used to generate nearly all of the nation’s electricity.

The production right area that is being applied for is smaller than the exploration right area that the company previously held, according to the report. TotalEnergies is the operator of the block with 45% of the rights, Qatar Petroleum holds 25%, CNR international 20%, and the remainder is held by the South African consortium Main Street.