Mozambique LNG to establish development Foundation in Cabo Delgado

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Mozambique LNG to establish development Foundation in Cabo Delgado

6:58 CAT | 23 May 2023

File photo: DW

The consortium led by TotalEnergies to exploit gas in the Rovuma Basin in northern Mozambique will create a foundation to support development projects in that region, the French major announced today.

“Mozambique LNG will establish a dedicated Foundation for the implementation of a socio-economic development program covering the whole territory of Cabo Delgado province, as part of a consistent and sustainable development strategy,” reads a statement issued by TotalEnergies.

READ: JUST IN: TotalEnergies publishes JC.Rufin’s report on human rights in Cabo Delgado, together with the action plan decided by the Mozambique LNG project partners

The decision follows the recommendations contained in a report by Christophe Rufin, a consultant hired by TotalEnergies to assess the humanitarian situation and decide whether it can resume work, interrupted in 2021 after a nearby rebel attack.

Rufin’s assessment foresees the “need to anticipate the evolution in case the state of ‘force majeure’ is lifted”, which will make it “more than likely that the Palma-Afungi region will register a massive influx of people”.

The state of ‘force majeure’ was invoked by TotalEnergies to suspend the construction of the natural gas liquefaction industrial complex, and it is still not known when it will be lifted, despite some construction work already taking place in the area.

The foundation announced today will have a multi-annual budget of US$200 million and its actions “will be conducted in a coordinated manner with the activities carried out by the other development stakeholders present in the Cabo Delgado province”.

This Foundation will act under the name of “Pamoja Tunaweza” (“together we can” in Kiswahili).

The consortium also announced that it had started discussing with the Mozambican Ministry of Defence a revision of the memorandum of understanding under which the armed forces are stationed next to the gas project.

Rufin argues that, thanks to the evolution of security conditions, “any direct link between the consortium and the Mozambican army should be cut off”

The Mozambique LNG action plan is based on 14 recommendations made in Christophe Rufin’s report, which, together with the abovementioned action plan, were made available by TotalEnergies today

In this regard, the Mozambique LNG partners have also announced measures to speed up the relocation of villages under the best possible terms for the population, with, for example, all receiving compensation by September and granted access to agricultural areas.

The president of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, told investors at the end of April that it was premature to consider a resumption of the project, saying that disagreements with contractors over extra costs still persisted.

READ: TotalEnergies says Mozambique LNG restart complicated by cost disagreements

Mozambique is basing many of its economic growth expectations for the coming years on the relaunch of the investment of around €20 billion, one of the largest private investments in Africa.

Source: Lusa