TotalEnergies Restarts Its $20bn Mozambique LNG Project After a Five-Year Freeze

One of Africa's largest energy projects is back under construction. TotalEnergies has announced the full restart of its $20 billion Mozambique LNG project, more than five years after violence linked to an Islamist insurgency in the northern Cabo Delgado region forced the French energy giant to halt work.

The announcement, made jointly by TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné and Mozambican President Daniel Chapo, marks a significant vote of confidence in the security situation around the project site, even as instability has not been entirely eliminated from the wider region. The facility is designed to supply up to 13 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year to global markets once complete, with first exports now targeted for 2029.

The restart carries substantial economic implications for Mozambique, one of the world's poorer nations, which has waited years to realise the promise of its offshore gas reserves. New contracts are being opened to local companies as work resumes, an effort to ensure the benefits of the project extend beyond the multinational partners financing it. An interministerial committee has also been set up to oversee revisions to development plans for the fields linked to both Mozambique LNG and the neighbouring Rovuma LNG project.

The restart fits into a broader wave of investment sweeping Africa's energy sector. Upstream oil-and-gas investment across the continent is forecast at around $41 billion in 2026, with more than $50 billion in commitments targeting capacity expansion in Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania through the end of the decade.