French company restarts Mozambique gas project
French energy firm TotalEnergies has announced the resumption of a Mozambique gas project after a nearly five-year pause in operations, as reported by France 24 via AFP on January 29th.
This was announced by the company’s chief executive, Patrick Pouyanné, who announced the restart of the Mozambique LNG project at a ceremony attended by Mozambican President Daniel Chapo.
Pouyanné told the event, “I am delighted to announce the full restart of the Mozambique LNG project… The force majeure is over.”
The $20 billion project in Cabo Delgado province, northern Mozambique, is the largest private investment in Africa’s energy infrastructure. The project was suspended in 2021 following a jihadist attack that killed more than 800 people.
This incident also led to TotalEnergies being accused of complicity in war crimes by a German NGO in November 2025, which sued the French company.
The core of the allegations concerns a security force hired by TotalEnergies to protect its gas extraction sites. Evidence reportedly found in internal documents suggests that guards employed by the French company were responsible for arbitrary killings and torture of civilians accused of being “jihadist collaborators.”
In addition to these accusations, the French oil major has reportedly asked the Mozambican government for $4.5 billion in compensation to resume the project, citing additional costs linked to the prolonged delay.
Despite these controversies, a statement from the office of President Chapo, elected in October 2024 in a heavily disputed vote, praised the resumption of TotalEnergies’ project, calling it “a significant milestone for the national economy” and saying it “reaffirms the confidence of international partners in Mozambique’s energy, institutional and human potential.”
Environmental groups take a different view, with activists labelling the gas extraction project a “climate bomb,” arguing that TotalEnergies’ presence will bring few tangible benefits to the Mozambican population, more than 80% of whom live below the poverty line of $3 a day.
Meanwhile, the situation on the ground remains deeply unstable. Although there have been no attacks on the scale of the 2021 assault, jihadist groups linked to the Islamic State continue to operate in Cabo Delgado, targeting civilians and forcing them to flee.
It was reported in December that jihadist militias displaced around 100,000 people. Since 2017, more than 6,000 people have been killed, according to ACLED, while the United Nations estimates that 1.3 million people have been displaced.
This upheaval has also triggered a humanitarian crisis, with thousands forced into temporary camps lacking adequate food, water, and healthcare, compounded by cholera outbreaks.
The UNHCR has warned that as violence spreads to new areas and shelters become increasingly overcrowded, it will require an additional $40 million to respond to the crisis.
France24, Maghrebi.org
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