Shell has suffered a major setback in its plans to explore for oil and gas off South Africa’s Wild Coast after the Constitutional Court overturned a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling that had kept the project alive.
The Court on August 14, 2026, reinstated a Makhanda High Court decision that had set aside the exploration right held by Impact Africa and later partly acquired by Shell. The Court found that communities had not been adequately consulted and that environmental, livelihood and climate concerns had not been properly considered.
The majority rejected the possibility of fixing these shortcomings through another renewal, saying a fresh assessment more than a decade after the original decision would effectively amount to a new application.
A dissenting judgment argued for renewed consultation and pointed to the companies’ roughly R1.1 billion ($68 million) investment.
The ruling removes the route for Shell and Impact Africa to revive the existing exploration right, delivering a major victory for Wild Coast communities, fishers and environmental groups.
Note by Alessandro Bazzoni