TotalEnergies has officially announced that it will resume its Mozambique LNG project in first quarter (Q1) of 2024, according to Reuters report.
Work on the project has been halted since 2021 when a violent insurgency led by Islamic State-linked militants threatened the Cabo Delgado site, leading to TotalEnergies declaring force majeure and halting construction.
In a press statement obtained by The Energy Republic, Chief Executive Officer at TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanne, said the company planned to restart the project before the end of this year, as the security situation improved with the support a regional military force including Rwanda.
“TotalEnergies have indicated that they want to restart their Mozambique LNG project in January 2024,” a government source close to the process said, asking to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter.
The ongoing violence in the northern Mozambican province has claimed thousands of lives since it broke out in 2017, disrupting multibillion-dollar investments including the $20 billion LNG project in which TotalEnergies has a 26.5% stake.
“TotalEnergies has asked funders to get approval for the restart of the Mozambique LNG project in the first quarter of 2024,” said a second funding source with direct knowledge of the project.
The project, which will help transform the economic fortunes of the impoverished southern African country, has faced criticism from environmental activists who last month urged funders to withdraw their financial support.
The scope of the project includes development of the Golfinho and Atum fields at the nearby Offshore Area 1 concession that will tie back to an onshore LNG production facility.
In May 2023, TotalEnergies published a humanitarian report outlining an action plan to boost local aid and restart the project.
The report by humanitarian action expert Jean-Christophe Rufin observed that danger zones were located south and west of the project site.
It also recommended an action plan including making payments to displaced families, building new houses, improving access to fishing, renegotiating terms with local defence groups and establishing a local foundation with a multiannual budget of USD$200 million.
TotalEnergies will invest $200 million to expedite resettlement and compensation for affected communities, provide solar PV systems to all households in Quitunda, enhance livelihood support, construct and rehabilitate schools and roads, install street lights, and establish agriculture activities in neighboring villages.
Mozambique LNG is a $20 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) development targeting the extraction of approximately 65 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas reserves leveraging a two-train LNG platform with the capacity to produce 43 million tons of LNG per annum.