Mozambique’s president, Daniel Chapo, has resumed discussions with TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne on the $20 billion Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project that has faced delays since 2021.
Chapo said he met with Pouyanne on Monday on the sidelines of the ongoing energy summit in Tanzania.
According to the Mozambican president, the discussions focused on the long-stalled LNG project as well as a $5 billion hydropower dam and plant that Total is developing alongside EDF and Sumitomo.
“During the conversation, Pouyanne reaffirmed TotalEnergies’ commitment to resuming the project, currently suspended since 2021 due to security challenges in the region,” Chapo said in a post on X on Monday.
Chapo also acknowledged that Mozambique, still grappling with months of post-election unrest, sees the Cabo Delgado project as critical to its economic growth.
“Efforts are therefore being made to ensure the necessary stability for its implementation,” he said.
Speaking Tuesday at the summit, Pouyanne added that discussions also covered potential gas-to-power projects for local communities, as well as progress on the hydropower project.
However, he noted that the hydropower project cannot move forward unless Mozambique invests in costly power transmission infrastructure.
“I was discussing the issue yesterday with the president of Mozambique, where we have a hydropower project, and I told him we cannot start the hydro because we don’t see the transmission line behind it,” Pouyanne said.
“It’s difficult in terms of huge capital to attract … You could attract international and private investors on infrastructure (projects), like transmission lines, but it has to be managed … otherwise, I’m afraid this bottleneck will remain,” he added.
The Mozambique LNG project is an onshore facility that was estimated to cost $20 billion at its launch. It aims to monetize the country’s significant gas discoveries by liquefying and exporting them via tankers. TotalEnergies owns a 26.5% stake in the project.
The development had secured the largest project financing ever seen in Africa before militant attacks near the site in 2021 forced Total to evacuate personnel and suspend operations.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that TotalEnergies recently hired the lobby firm Primus Responsum to help secure final approval for financing from the board of the US Export-Import Bank. The bank had agreed in 2020 to provide $4.7 billion—the largest share of funding for the project.
Documents show that Primus Responsum would receive a “milestone payment” of $250,000 if the Exim board approved financing by January 20, the day of President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
