Total to resume gas project in Mozambique
Tuesday February 01 2022
TotalEnergies says it will resume work on its natural gas project in Mozambique´s northern province of Cabo Delgado. PHOTO | FILE | NMG
TotalEnergies says it will resume work on its natural gas project in Mozambique´s northern province of Cabo Delgado this year, in what could signal improving security.
The company shut down the project last year over the ongoing insurgency in northern parts of Mozambique.
Following a meeting with President Filipe Nyusi, TotalEnergies Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné said the firm is planning to resume operations this year.
“My goal is for [the project] to restart in 2022, but I am not alone. We are ready.”
Mr Pouyanné signed an agreement with Mozambican authorities to train 2,500 young people from Cabo Delgado, with a view to creating job opportunities arising from the investments underway.
The violence in the north put a chokehold on Mozambique’s economy, disrupting oil and gas projects worth billions of dollars after international companies were targeted and forced to halt operations.
The French multinational project in Cabo Delgado suspended operations following an attack by insurgents in March 2021.
President Nyusi said he was happy with the military advance on the insurgency and he hoped to see tranquillity throughout Cabo Delgado province soon.
The French company has been in Mozambique since 1991 and operates in the exploration, production, marketing and services sectors.
TotalEnergies Marketing Moҫambique SA is a major player in the downstream petroleum products market with a nationwide gas station network, industrial and mining customers, lubricants and logistics.
It is active in more than 130 countries and has more than 105,000 employees worldwide.