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South Africa’s Constitutional Court has blocked Shell from proceeding with offshore exploration, handing a decisive victory to local communities and environmental organisations after years of legal battles.
The top court’s ruling on Friday overturned a 2024 decision by the Supreme Court of Appeal that had temporarily sustained the oil giant’s exploration ambitions along the country’s coast.
The protracted dispute began when indigenous Wild Coast communities and activists challenged Shell’s exploration rights, raising grave concerns over seismic survey impacts on marine life, coastal livelihoods, and ancestral heritage.
The high-profile litigation forms part of a broader wave of legal resistance that has repeatedly stalled offshore energy developments and weakened foreign investor confidence across South Africa’s oil and gas sector.
