TotalEnergies is continuing to push forward with its return to Cabo Delgado even as the United Nations warns that violence in the province is on track to hit a record high.
According to Portuguese news agency Lusa, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné says he expects to start LNG production at the site in 2029, having presented a new development program to the Mozambican government.
“Everything is ready,” he told investors on Monday, citing the “decision to officially lift the force majeure” as the final piece. Total invoked the clause in 2021 after a deadly, days-long attack on the nearby town of Palma, part of a terrorist insurgency that has plagued the region since October 2017. While Total floated resuming the project as early as 2022, ongoing safety concerns left it unwilling to commit to a start date as recently as last year.
When the French energy giant announced in May that it planned to resume work, Pouyanné told Reuters that “the security situation has improved.” However, a recent field report from the United Nations warns that “civil violence [in Cabo Delgado] is on track to hit a record high in 2025, with 519 attacks reported by the end of August.”
[See more: TotalEnergies prepares return to Mozambique’s restive Cabo Delgado province]
That represents an increase of nearly 16 percent over the 448 attacks recorded in the same period in 2023, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Cabo Delgado has experienced a marked surge in violence since late August, with armed insurgents carrying out repeated attacks on civilians alongside military operations. Insurgent attacks include killings, abductions, ransom demands, looting and burning of homes.
Preliminary data shows at least 20,181 people have been displaced by violence and insecurity just since August, including more than 10,000 children. The true number, the report notes, could be higher due to delays in records, seeking refuge in other communities or remaining in their own communities but “fleeing into the bushland and returning home as soon as security permits.”
As insurgent attacks trend up and out, spilling into the neighbouring provinces of Nampula and Niassa, reporting indicates that the Mozambican government will still give the greenlight to Total. Multiple well-placed sources told industry outlet Upstream that the force majeure is expected to be lifted next week. After that, all that’s needed is for Total and the government to approve an updated development plan and budget to account for the impact of the force majeure.
