TotalEnergies denies knowing about alleged torture and killings at Mozambique Liquefied Natural Gas site

Report by Politico alleges torture and killings at future LNG plants

TotalEnergies and Mozambique LNG claim they were unaware of the alleged killings

Politico report follows criminal complaint over evacuation

By America Hernandez

PARIS, September 26 - French oil giant TotalEnergies responded to a report in the media by saying that it was unaware of the torture and killings allegedly committed on site of the future Mozambique Liquefied Natural Gas plant.

Politico reported earlier Thursday that Mozambican soldiers working out of this site, which has not been completed, had rounded up 180 to 250 local men and locked them inside shipping containers. They then tortured them and killed the majority of them from July through September 2021.

The Mozambican defense ministry didn't immediately respond to an inquiry for comment about the allegations made in the Politico article, which was based on anonymous witnesses and survivors of the gas plant explosion. Politico reported in its report, that both the Mozambican presidency and defense ministry had not responded to requests for comments before publication.

TotalEnergies which is the operator of the project and has a 26.5% stake, issued a statement saying: "Before being contacted by this article's author, TotalEnergies never received any information about the alleged incidents described".

Consortium partners include Japan’s Mitsui (80%), Mozambique’s ENH (15%), Thailand’s PTTEP (8.5%) and Indian firms ONGC Videsh (80%), Bharat Petroleum (10) and Oil India Ltd (4%)

TotalEnergies, on behalf of Mozambique LNG, released a statement that said: "Mozambique LNG is unaware of any alleged events... and never received information to indicate such events occurred."

TotalEnergies led the development of the $20 billion project to export gas in an attempt to make the country a major LNG supplier to compete with Australia, Qatar and Russia.

TotalEnergies declared force majeure in March 2021 after nearby islamist attacks and evacuated the site named Afungi. Since then, the project has been frozen.

The consortium said that "the last remaining Mozambique LNG staff were evacuated by 2 April 2021 and the Afungi facility was then handed over to Mozambican security forces." The consortium stated that "no Mozambique LNG staff returned until November 2021."

Politico reported some contractors returned to the site. Some unsuccessfully tried to offer food and drink to the captives.

In a statement, Mozambique LNG stated that it worked with NGOs in order to provide food, humanitarian aid and support to the local communities affected by March's islamist attack through 2021.

The report said that "nothing in these phone calls" about the alleged events described by (the Politico story) involving government troops at the gas station was ever brought up.

TotalEnergies, a French oil company, is also the subject of an investigation and criminal complaint in Paris. The French oil giant allegedly failed to ensure that all of its subcontractors were safe during the initial islamist attack and evacuation. TotalEnergies rejects these claims as inaccurate.

Mozambique continues to be plagued by jihadists attacks. But in July, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne stated that he hoped to chart out a plan to restart Mozambique LNG following the country's presidential elections in October. (Reporting from America Hernandez in Paris, Additional reporting by Manuel Mucari at Maputo Editing done by Richard Lough and Frances Kerry.)

(source: Reuters)