TotalEnergies will provide US$10 million for development projects in the insurgency-hit Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado through the Agency for the Integrated Development of the North (ADIN), it was announced on Monday.
“We want to contribute, through ADIN, to the government’s efforts to stabilize the lives and well-being of communities. The signing of this memorandum with ADIN marks our desire to strengthen and expand ongoing work through a more global strategy,” said TotalEnergies representative in Mozambique, Maxime Rabilloud, quoted yesterday in an ADIN statement.
According to Rabilloud, the French multinational wants the communities of Palma and Mocímboa da Praia to continue benefiting from the opportunities created by the TotalEnergies Mozambique LNG project, currently suspended for four years due to the terrorist attacks.
“The program’s infrastructure component includes the development of basic infrastructure such as paved service roads and earthworks, with the aim of contributing to improving population mobility and the flow of production to potential local markets,” the ADIN statement outlines.
In the agricultural component, TotalEnergies’ financing includes the development of agricultural cooperatives, contributing to increased production, processing, and market connections, “with significant impacts on boosting local employment, especially for the benefit of young people”, it adds.
According to ADIN, the project will support local economic actors to promote the proper management of environmental preservation areas, contributing to “sustainable and job-inducing” development and helping to preserve biodiversity.
The focus will be on “climate shocks and adverse factors” and “the community resilience component includes initiatives to support local economic ecosystems to enable humanitarian aid and support social cohesion initiatives”, it adds.
On July 14, the Mozambican government assured that the conditions are in place for the resumption of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) megaproject in Cabo Delgado, following a meeting between President Daniel Chapo and the head of TotalEnergies.
Patrick Pouyanné previously admitted the possibility of resuming the $20 billion megaproject by last August, with several subcontractors receiving instructions to prepare to return to work on the Afungi Peninsula.
TotalEnergies holds a 26.5% stake in the Area 1 consortium developing a plant near Palma in Cabo Delgado for the production and export of liquefied natural gas (LNG), primarily for clients in Asia, alongside Mozambican partners and the Japanese company Mitsui (20%).
Mozambique has three approved development projects to exploit the natural gas reserves of the Rovuma Basin, ranked among the largest in the world, off the coast of Cabo Delgado.
Since October 2017, the gas-rich province has faced an armed rebellion with attacks claimed by movements associated with the extremist group Islamic State, which have displaced more than one million people, including 349 deaths in 2024 alone, according to data from the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, an academic institution of the US Department of Defence that analyses conflicts in Africa.
Source: Club Of Mozambique / Lusa
