The Mozambique Mining & Energy Conference (MMEC) keynote speech by Filipe Nyusi provides further evidence that TotalEnergies has not yet confirmed its return to the site of the $13 billion Liquefied Natural Gas project construction in Mozambique.
The Mozambican President’s speech aimed to persuade the French Major and the global audience present at the meeting that it was secure for the company to resume its Cabo Delgado liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which was put on hold in 2021 as a result of widespread insurgent attacks on civilians.
“The working environment and security in northern Mozambique make it possible for TOTAL to resume its
activities any time,” Nyusi declared, referring to the 18-month-old offensive by Mozambique and its partners.
Rwanda and other Southern African countries against the Islamic State-backed insurgents, whose killing spree
in the towns and villages close to the LNG site surged to a historic high in 2021, forcing TOTAL to declare a
force majeure on the $20 billion project.
TotalEnergies’ Chairman and Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne visited Mozambique in February 2023 to meet
President Nyusi, and review the security and humanitarian situation in Cabo Delgado, the northern province of
Mozambique, where the project is domiciled. The company announced the appointment of Jean-Christophe.
Rufin, said to be an expert in humanitarian action and human rights, to independently assess the situation in
Cabo Delgado province
However, since that time, media rumors have tended to predict that TOTAL and its contractors will probably visit the location again some time in 2023. The major source of the rumors was an article from March 2023 that said the Italian contractor Saipem had “agreed to restart a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique for TotalEnergies in July 2023.” During a conference call on the company’s 2022 financial results, Saipem CEO Alessandro Puliti stated, “We expect to gradually restart the (Mozambique) project, according to “The information received by our clients, starting from July this year. TotalEnergies has never publicly provided a return schedule.
Since April 2021, Mozambique’s defense forces and their partners have made progress against the insurgency by retaking strategic roads and pushing the insurgents out of most of their bases. Despite this, the terror group al-Shabab has adapted quickly by breaking up into small cells and raiding villages and security posts. In 2022, attacks were reported in sixteen of Cabo Delgado’s seventeen districts. The insurgents have also made incursions into neighboring provinces and have received support from the Islamic State leadership.
Mozambique is eager to capitalize on the present high prices of LNG and the worldwide transition toward cleaner energy sources.
