The CEO of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanne, has stated that the United States (US) will approve funding for its Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in Mozambqiue in the coming weeks.
Pouyanne made this disclosure to newsmen on Wednesday while reporting fourth-quarter earnings of the French oil major in the United States.
He stated that the Trump-led administration is expected to fast-track approval for the loan facility after months of delay under the Biden administration. According to the Total CEO, the funds should be approved within the next week or two.
The US is expected to decide on financing the Mozambique LNG project in the coming weeks, following TotalEnergies’ hiring of a Washington lobbyist to help secure key export financing.
Meanwhile, the company is waiting for loan re-approvals from the United States, UK, and Dutch export credit agencies before lifting a force majeure on the project that has been in place since 2021.
The UK government, on the other hand, earlier announced that it is seeking legal advice on withdrawing $1.15 billion in public funds from TotalEnergies’ controversial $20 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique.
Following the UK Export Finance commitment in 2020 to funding in the Mozambique LNG project. However, the project was halted less than a year later due to escalating violence in the African region.
Moreover, Pouyanne added that the project’s original completion date of 2027 would need to be pushed back to 2029 or 2030.
The U.S. Export-Import Bank had earlier agreed to a $4.7 billion loan for the project, but it needs to be re-approved.
However, it has already signed a contract on the funding. Pouyanne stated that Britain, which has committed between $800 million and $1 billion, is attempting to determine whether it has the legal right to withdraw.
“I am waiting to see how they will explain it to us,” he added.
