The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) has issued national oil company PetroSA with a notice of suspension relating to its environmental impact assessment (EIA) application for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal it is proposing for development in the Mossel Bay area of the Western Cape.

PetroSA is interrogating two main sites (one in Vleesbaai and one in Voorbaai) in  for the proposed LNG terminal and is planning to make a final investment decision on the $375-million to $510-million project in the fourth quarter of 2014. The project is designed to bolster security of gas supply to its gas-to-liquids plant and first gas could flow in early 2018.

However, interested and affected parties have alleged that the EIA is noncompliant with South Africa’s environmental regulations, particularly the National Environmental Management Act regulation stipulating that the environmental assessment practitioner (EAP) be fully independent.

Project opponents have objected to the appointment of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) as the EAP, arguing that the State-owned science council could not be considered to be independent given that government is the sole shareholder in both the CSIR and PetroSA. However, a number of other objections were also raised in correspondence dated November 1, 2013.

The DEA, as the competent authority, is compelled to investigate allegations of noncompliance and it, therefore, notified PetroSA and the CSIR on November 22 both of the suspension and that they could “make representations to the DEA regarding the alleged noncompliance”.

Rescue Vleesbaai Action Group (Revag) chairperson Mareo Bekker expressed gratitude to the DEA for its intervention. The organisation said that the DEA’s intervention followed the recent termination by PetroSA of its appointment of WorleyParsons to conduct a quantitative risk assessment for the project in parallel with the EIA process. The termination followed Revag’s objection to the assessment being performed by the same company that had already been appointed to conduct the front-end engineering design of the proposed terminal.

PetroSA said it had noted the decision and that it would be making a representation to the department regarding the alleged noncompliance.

“PetroSA is confident that all requirements and legislative processes relating to the appointment of CSIR as the independent environmental assessment practitioner have been duly followed,” operations VP Dr Thabo Kgogo said in a statement.

He added that its presentation to the DEA would be done "as soon as possible to ensure that the EIA process continues unhindered".