Mozambique: Total oil in permanent contact with government after latest attack

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Mozambique: Total oil in permanent contact with government after latest attack

6:55 CAT | 29 Dec 2020

in file CoM

Oil company Total told Lusa on Tuesday that it is in “permanent contact” with the Mozambican authorities and is monitoring the security situation in Cabo Delgado, after the latest attack near the megaproject it is leading for gas exploration in the province.

“Total is in permanent contact with the Mozambican authorities on this matter”, the company said in a note sent to Lusa.

There were two armed rebel attacks around 5am (3pm in Lisbon) today, targeting the headquarters of the Olumbi Administrative Post and the town of Monjane, the latter less than 10 kilometres from the construction work on the gas megaprojects led by Total.

In the note, the multinational, without clarifying if any activities have been interrupted as a result of the attack, reinforced its commitment to the security of the workforce, ensuring that it is “closely monitoring the situation in Cabo Delgado”.

“The security of the workforce and the activities of the Mozambique LNG project is our top priority,” the company stressed.

Also read: Mozambique: Rebels launch further attacks near gas megaprojects

During the incursion, there were major clashes with the Defence and Security Forces, which remain in high numbers in the region, said a resident of Palma, a coastal village adjacent to the megaproject.

As a result of the attack, access to the region was limited and the Defence and Security Forces remained in the region, and the rebel group retreated, he added.

An employee from a company subcontracted by Total told Lusa that the workers had been instructed not to leave the compound where they live.

Also read: Mozambique: terrorists driven back in Palma district – AIM report

This is the second incursion near the gas megaprojects this month, after a first attack that took place on 7 December in the village of Mute, less than 25 kilometres from the area where the natural gas processing industrial zone in Area 1 of the Rovuma basin is being built.

The project, led by Total, is the largest private investment in Africa, expected to cost around €20 billion.

Today’s attacks come one day after Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi asked the Defence and Security Forces for “maximum readiness” in the face of the “silence of the enemy”, after “successful” operations by government forces in Macomia, another Cabo Delgado district that has been frequently affected by rebel incursions.

According to official figures, at least 37 insurgents were shot in Macomia and 27 weapons seized, in operations carried out by the 7th Defence and Security Forces battalion stationed in the region.

The armed violence in Cabo Delgado began three years ago and is causing a humanitarian crisis with more than 2,000 deaths and 560,000 displaced people, without housing or food, mainly concentrated in the provincial capital, Pemba.

Some of the incursions have been claimed by the ‘jihadist’ Islamic state group since 2019.

Source: Lusa