News Flash
- TotalEnergies’ liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique could be back on track within the next 18 months after African armies deployed to help quell an insurgency, the president of the African Development Bank (AfDB) said last week.
- The French energy giant declared force majeure on the USD 20 billion project in April after Islamic State-linked fighters overran the town of Palma, on the doorstep of its Alfungi facilities in the northern Cabo Delgado province. Read more
- Troops from Rwanda and members states from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have since deployed to support Mozambican forces to help put down the insurgency.
AfDB president Akinwumi Adesina told press agency Reuters last week that he did not expect the interruption to affect the LNG project’s long-term viability.
“The return of security in that place will give assurances to Total and others to return,” he said. “In one year to 18 months, I expect it to be stabilised enough to get back on track.”
The AfDB is lending USD 400 million to the project, which is Africa‘s largest ever foreign direct investment and a lynchpin of Mozambique’s economic development strategy.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
