Shell Plc, Impact Africa and South African Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe were given leave to appeal a ruling that stopped the oil company from doing seismic surveys of an ecologically sensitive stretch of the country’s east-coast ocean earlier this year.

The Eastern Cape High Court “found that, while it could see no prospects of success for the appeal, it would grant leave to appeal because issues of such public importance should be heard before the higher courts,” legal firm Natural Justice said in an emailed statement. The applicants who took the matter to court, including Wild Coast communities, Sustaining the Wild Coast, All Rise, Natural Justice and Greenpeace Africa “remain confident in a higher court ruling in their favour.”

“This case is a matter of life and death for coastal communities whose livelihoods depend on the ocean,” said Sinegugu Zukulu, head of Sustaining the Wild Coast. “This is also about a global fight against climate change.”

The pristine area that Shell wants to explore, known as the Wild Coast, is also a migratory route for whales and the site of the annual so-called sardine run, which has been described as the greatest shoal on earth. Millions of the small, silvery fish swim north, attracting predators such as dolphins, sharks and gannets in great numbers. The spectacle is a boon for tourism and a sign of the region’s biodiversity.

Shell bought a 50% working interest in the Transkei and Algoa exploration areas off South Africa in 2020 from Impact Oil and Gas Ltd., which holds the other half. Mantashe has been adamant that the nation must forge ahead with offshore oil and gas exploration, despite legal setbacks to the development of the resources.