France-based energy major TotalEnergies can safely resume working on an LNG project worth some $20 billion in Mozambique. This is according to Filipe Nyusi, the country’s president.
The project was paused in 2021 following militant attacks in the nearby town of Parma. At a recent energy conference in Maputo, the capital city of Mozambique, Nyusi said the north of the country was now sufficiently secure for TotalEnergies to resume working on the project.
Nevertheless, the project is run by a consortium that involves players other than TotalEnergies. Stephanie Platat, a spokesperson for TotalEnergies, spoke to Reuters about resuming the project:
“The restart is a decision of Mozambique LNG, not a decision of TotalEnergies, which only owns 26.5% of the project. Given the context, the decision will have to be unanimous and TotalEnergies’ position is that it is appropriate to take the time to have the expected assurances before considering a possible restart.”
TotalEnergies, which also makes the Total range of lubricant and coolant products, has previously said it will take four years from restarting the project to beginning production, meaning that the plant will be operational by 2027 in the best-case scenario.
TotalEnergies project director Stephane Le Galles has previously said that resuming the project will need a number of conditions to be met, such as Government officials re-establishing a presence in the region, projects costs remaining unchanged, and the security situation improving. The company has also appointed a human rights and humanitarian action expert, Christophe Rufin, to independently evaluate the humanitarian situation in the Cabo Delgado province.
