Shell’s South African partner dismissed fears that seismic surveys for offshore oil and gas could endanger marine life and warned that halting searches could leave the country entirely dependent on crude imports. There is no evidence that seismic testing has “had any biologically significant impact on any marine populations in areas in which surveys have been conducted anywhere in the world,” Hosken Consolidated Investments said in an open letter published on its website. The company is an investor in Impact Oil and Gas, in which Shell owns a 50% stake.
