Mozambique’s government has signed a new security agreement with TotalEnergies and its partners, clearing a major hurdle toward restarting the $20 billion Mozambique LNG project that has sat idle since 2021, when insurgent violence in Cabo Delgado province forced operations to a halt.
The deal, struck with the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy, spells out exactly how the government and the Area 1 partners will share responsibility for protecting workers and infrastructure going forward, giving the project a clearer path to resume construction after years of uncertainty.
TotalEnergies holds a 26.5 percent stake in the venture alongside Mitsui, Mozambique’s ENH, India’s ONGC Videsh and BPRL, and Thailand’s PTTEP. Once running, the project will tap the offshore Golfinho/Atum fields and produce 13.1 million tonnes of LNG a year from two liquefaction trains.
TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné had signalled earlier this year that a restart in 2024 was possible if security improved, and this agreement is the clearest sign yet that the company believes conditions are heading in the right direction. Support from Rwandan troops and the Southern African Development Community has helped stabilise Cabo Delgado, though officials caution that vigilance is still required before the project can fully return to full speed.
For Mozambique, reviving the project means jobs, new infrastructure and a much-needed boost to government revenue from gas exports — but its long-term success will still hinge on whether the hard-won security gains in the north can hold.
Source: (offshore-technology.com)