Mozambique President discusses LNG and hydro projects with TotalEnergies CEO

Patrick Pouyanne (CEO of TotalEnergies) met Mozambique President Daniel Chapo on Monday. The two discussed several projects of the company in the southern African nation, including the long-delayed development of liquefied gas worth $20 billion.

The French oil major confirmed last week that the force majeure on the project had not yet been lifted. This pushed back the deadline for Mozambique LNG to start construction in 2024. It was originally scheduled to begin gas production by 2029.

Chapo wrote in a Monday post on X that Pouyanne reaffirmed TotalEnergies’ commitment to resuming this project, which has been suspended since 2021 due to security issues in the region.

Chapo stated that Mozambique had been ravaged by months of unrest following the recent elections and acknowledged the importance of Cabo Delgado for the country's future growth.

Chapo stated that "efforts are being made to ensure stability for its implementation."

The meeting was held on the sidelines a two-day summit on energy in Tanzania.

Pouyanne said that during the Tuesday summit they discussed gas-to power projects for local residents, and progress on the $5 billion hydropower plant and dam Total is developing with EDF and Sumitomo.

In a panel discussion on barriers to private investments, the CEO stated that the hydroelectricity project cannot get started unless Mozambique also builds the expensive powerlines which are essential for transporting the electricity to paying customers.

Pouyanne stated, "I discussed the issue with the President of Mozambique yesterday, where we have an hydropower project. I told him that we can't start the hydro because the transmission line is behind it."

Pouyanne stated that it was difficult to attract large capital. "You could attract private and international investors to infrastructure projects, like transmission lines. But you have to manage the project... or else I fear this bottleneck will continue," he said. Reporting by Wendell Roelf from Capetown, and America Hernandez from Paris. Editing by Bhargav Asharya and David Evans.

(source: Reuters)