TotalEnergies' head met Mozambique President with key gas project at stake

By Sudip Kar-Gupta

PARIS (Reuters) - The head of TotalEnergies met Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi on Friday to discuss the humanitarian situation in the Cabo Delgado area, where a 2021 attack on civilians led to a key liquefied natural gas (LNG) project being halted.

The French company said on Friday that its chairman and chief executive Patrick Pouyanne had visited the Cabo Delgado area to review the security and humanitarian situation, and that Pouyanne had met the Mozambique President during his trip.

TotalEnergies added it had entrusted Jean-Christophe Rufin, whom it said was an expert in humanitarian action and human rights, with an independent mission to assess the humanitarian situation in Cabo Delgado province.

TotalEnergies' Mozambique LNG project, valued at $20 billion, had to declare 'force majeure' in 2021 due to regional unrest after an insurgent group linked to Islamic State attacked the northern town of Palma.

Force majeure is a clause in contracts that allows parties to walk away when circumstances beyond their control occur, such as terrorist attacks.

"Since 2021, the situation in Cabo Delgado province has improved significantly, thanks in particular to the support provided by the African countries that committed themselves to restore peace and security," Pouyanné said in a statement.

"The mission entrusted to Jean-Christophe Rufin should enable Mozambique LNG's partners to assess whether the current situation allows for a resumption of activities while respecting human rights," he added.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Editing by Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan)