Mozambique: No deadline yet for audit of TotalEnergies – AIM report

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: No deadline yet for audit of TotalEnergies – AIM report

8:08 CAT | 25 Nov 2025

Image: AIM

The Mozambican government does not yet have any deadline for auditing the recoverable costs of the French oil and gas company TotalEnergies, according to a report in Monday’s issue of the independent daily “O Pais”.

Despite this, the government has given TotalEnergies the green light to resume its natural gas liquefaction project in Palma district, in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.

TotalEnergies claims that it incurred extra costs of 4.5 billion US dollars during the four and a half years that the Mozambique LNG project was suspended.

The company declared force majeure in March 2021, when Palma town suffered a massive attack from terrorists linked to the self-styled “Islamic State”.

In October this year, TotalEnergies announced the lifting of the state of force majeure, but claimed that the cost of the interruption was 4.5 billion dollars. It wants these costs added to the cost of the investment – which means that they will be deducted from future gas revenue produced in the Rovuma Basin, and hence from the State’s fiscal revenues.

Government spokesperson and Minister of State Administration Inocencio Impissa, cited by “O Pais”, said there are no deadlines for the promised audit. It is not yet clear who will audit the costs claimed by TotalEnergies.

“There are parts and components made in Europe, and other parts made in the United States”, said Impissa, and the auditor may need to visit all these countries.

The auditor would need to draw up a plan of work, “and on that basis, a reasonable time will be defined for the auditor to carry out its activity”, he added. “So the deadline has not yet been fixed, and nor do we know who the auditor will be. But I think the choice will be made on the basis of a very open tender”.

But that was only one possibility. Impissa said the government is open to advice from countries with great experience in this area.

Nonetheless, terms of reference for the audit are already being drafted. Impissa added that TotalEnergies has 30 days to present a calendar of activities to be carried out during the relaunching of the gas project.

Source: AIM