Signal ConCourt ends Shell's Wild Coast oil and gas lifeline in victory for coastal communities

Summary

South Africa's Constitutional Court ruled on August 14, 2026 to permanently invalidate exploration rights held by a Shell-led consortium off the country's Wild Coast, with Justice Jody Kollapen writing the majority opinion, according to Daily Maverick. The ruling closed a path the Supreme Court of Appeal had left open in 2024, when it allowed the possibility of curing procedural defects through a renewed application; the Constitutional Court instead reinstated the Makhanda High Court's original finding that the exploration right and its two renewals were unlawful on three grounds: inadequate public consultation, failure to consider environmental and community interests, and non-compliance with the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act. The majority opinion cited the International Court of Justice's July 2025 advisory opinion on states' climate obligations, stating that commercial investment cannot outweigh serious constitutional violations. Justice Rogers, joined by Justice Savage, dissented, arguing the matter should have been remitted for fresh consultation, and noted the companies' roughly R1.1 billion ($68 million) investment. Shell said it noted the ruling and remained committed to 'responsible offshore exploration,' while continuing to pursue exploration in South Africa's west coast Orange Basin. The case originated from a 2014 exploration right granted to Impact Africa, later partly transferred to Shell, and had been opposed by Wild Coast communities since at least 2021.