French oil company TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné met with Mozambique President Daniel Chapo to discuss a controversial liquified natural gas (LNG) project that has undergone multiple delays, according to Chapo’s social media.
TotalEnergies recently announced that the $20bn LNG project, which was Africa’s biggest foreign direct investment project when it was announced, would not be operational until 2029 amid political and security concerns.
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The project already suffered a setback in 2021 when an Islamist insurgency that killed dozens of people propelled the company to halt operations under a get-out clause known as a force majeure. Some foreign workers were also killed during the attack, which happened near the project site in the northern Cabo Delgado province.
“Pouyanné reaffirmed TotalEnergies’ commitment to resuming the project. We reaffirm the importance of the project for the economic growth of Mozambique, and efforts are therefore being made to ensure the necessary stability for its implementation,” President Chapo said on X.
Chapo was sworn into office this month after heavily contested elections. According to a local civil service group, over 300 people have been killed in Mozambique amid clashes with government security forces.
The LNG project has also come under scrutiny from nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and European lawmakers for human rights violations. In September 2024, POLITICO revealed that soldiers operating out of the gas plant being used for the project had kidnapped, raped and killed dozens of civilians.
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By GlobalDataTo restart the project, local security conditions and former financing commitments would have to be reviewed. For example, the US’s Export-Import Bank would have to reapprove a $4.7bn loan.
