After nearly five years of suspension due to armed conflict, Mozambique has officially restarted the TotalEnergies-led liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Cabo Delgado, a region in the country’s north bordering Tanzania. The announcement was made jointly by TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné and Mozambican President Daniel Chapo during a ceremony held in Afungi, where the onshore facilities are located.
The $20 billion investment, which had been halted in 2021 following a violent armed attack in the coastal town of Palma that resulted in an estimated 800 deaths, is now formally back on track. At the time, TotalEnergies had declared force majeure, a legal provision allowing companies to pause contractual obligations due to extraordinary events. That status has now been lifted, as stated by Pouyanné who confirmed, “The force majeure is over.”
The Mozambique LNG project was initially poised to begin exports in 2024 but is now expected to commence shipments of liquefied natural gas by early 2029. This revised timeline accounts for the extensive security and engineering delays caused by the conflict. According to TotalEnergies, around 90 percent of the engineering work has already been completed, with over 4,000 workers currently mobilised on-site to resume full-scale development.
The project, located within the Rovuma Basin, holds significance not just for Mozambique but for the broader Southern African region. Once operational, it is projected to produce 13.1 million tonnes of LNG annually, positioning Mozambique among the world’s top ten LNG producers. Analysts suggest the project could substantially shift the regional energy dynamic and provide the country with a critical revenue stream. It is also seen as a symbol of renewed international investor confidence in the country’s institutional and infrastructural potential.
The project’s halt in 2021 came amid a deteriorating security environment in Cabo Delgado, a province that has seen complex and multifaceted armed insurgencies since 2017. The violence, often oversimplified through a global lens, reflects deep socio economic and political dynamics in the region. Following the suspension, Mozambique requested support from regional partners, resulting in the deployment of Rwandan forces and troops from the Southern African Development Community. These collective efforts have led to a gradual stabilisation of the affected zones, allowing for resumption of the energy project.
In economic terms, the implications are significant. The Mozambican government has referred to the relaunch as a critical milestone for national development. It is expected that revenues generated from the LNG project will contribute to long term fiscal sustainability, although challenges remain around equitable distribution and ensuring communities affected by extraction benefit meaningfully.
The project is operated by TotalEnergies which holds a 26.5 percent stake, alongside partners including Japan’s Mitsui & Co. (20 percent), Mozambique’s national hydrocarbon company ENH (15 percent), and energy firms from India and Thailand. Approximately 90 percent of future LNG output is already under long term contract with global buyers including Shell, China National Offshore Oil Corporation and Électricité de France. The commitment of these buyers suggests strong forward demand for the gas despite the project’s prolonged pause.
However, the financial and social costs of the delay are not negligible. TotalEnergies has sought compensation for approximately $4.5 billion in cost overruns associated with the five year interruption, bringing the overall project value to an estimated $20.5 billion. It remains unclear how these claims will be resolved or what the financial implications might be for the Mozambican state.
The broader context invites a deeper reflection on how extractive projects of such scale intersect with local livelihoods, governance, and regional integration. While energy development is widely recognised as a potential engine of growth, it is imperative that Mozambique navigates the post conflict reconstruction of Cabo Delgado in a way that centres its people and does not replicate models of development that marginalise them.
This relaunch signals not merely a return to energy production but also an opportunity for reframing how Africa’s natural resources are managed, negotiated, and narrated. The continent has long been defined externally through a lens of resource extraction and geopolitical interest. Yet initiatives like the Mozambique LNG project can also be spaces where sovereignty, agency and local capacity are foregrounded if guided by inclusive governance and transparency.
Mozambique’s journey with this megaproject is far from over. But its restart marks a significant moment for a country and region seeking to balance development, stability and equity in the face of global energy transitions and enduring local realities.
