- Mozambique’s energy minister said that Mozambique has not received a request from TotalEnergies to lift a force majeure declaration.
- TotalEnergies Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said at an energy conference in Tokyo that he expects the project to resume development “this summer”.
Mozambique‘s energy minister said on Friday that the government has not received a request from TotalEnergies to lift a force majeure declaration on its $20-billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the country, but he is optimistic about the oil major’s plan to resume development this summer.
Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Estevao Pale told reporters in Tokyo after meeting with Japan’s industry minister, Muto Yoji, that the force majeure will be lifted as soon as the project’s operator determines conditions are in place to resume operations.
“We, as a government, are doing everything that we can to be able to resume the project,” Pale said.
“We are working together with all partners on the project to create the security conditions favourable to restart the project,” he said, adding that security conditions have improved considerably.
TotalEnergies Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said at an energy conference in Tokyo on Wednesday that he expects the project to resume development “this summer”.
Covered by force majeure since 2021 following insurgent attacks, the Mozambique LNG project includes development of the Golfinho and Atum natural gas fields in the Offshore Area 1 concession and the building of a two-train liquefaction plant. The plant will have an annual capacity of 13.12 million metric tons.
French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies is the project’s operator with a stake of 26.5 per cent, followed by Mitsui & Co with 20 per cent. Mozambique’s state-owned ENH has 15 per cent, and Indian state companies and Thailand’s PTTEP own the rest.