“Everything is ready. In fact, we are remobilizing on the ground, but the final part, I would say, of the decision to officially lift the ‘force majeure’ is that discussions are ongoing. The government must approve the updated development plan because we need to update it with a new target regarding the start of operations,” announced Patrick Pouyanné during a meeting in New York with investors to present data on the global performance of the French oil company.
This is a 20 billion dollar (17 billion euro) project led by TotalEnergies in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, with an estimated production forecast of 13 million tons per year (mtpa), which according to the oil company is currently 40% developed.
In 2021, TotalEnergies, leading the consortium in Area 1 of the Rovuma Basin with a 26.5% stake in the project, triggered the “force majeure” clause and suspended activities due to terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado, while the development of a plant in Afungi, near Palma, for the production and export of natural gas, was underway.
“It will be in 2029 that we plan to start operations and, naturally, update the budget with the impact of ‘force majeure’ (…). So, this issue is being evaluated and, I think, we will move very quickly,” Pouyanné added.
Mozambique has three approved development projects for exploiting the natural gas reserves of the Rovuma Basin, classified among the largest in the world, off the coast of Cabo Delgado. Besides the one operated by the Italian Eni, the only one in production, there is also Mozambique LNG (Area 1), operated by TotalEnergies, and Rovuma LNG (Area 4), complementary, operated by ExxonMobil, with 18 mtpa, both in the development phase.
Since October 2017, the gas-rich province has faced an armed rebellion with attacks claimed by movements associated with the extremist group Islamic State, leading to over a million displaced people, including 349 deaths in 2024 alone, according to data from the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, an academic institution of the US Government’s Department of Defense that analyzes conflicts in Africa.
