Mozambique President Daniel Chapo said the conditions have been met for TotalEnergies SE to lift force majeure on its $20 billion liquefied natural gas project, one of the largest private investments in Africa.
Mozambique moved closer to reviving one of Africa’s largest energy ventures after President Daniel Chapo said the criteria have been met to lift force majeure on TotalEnergies’ onshore LNG project in Cabo Delgado—paused since 2021—while CEO Patrick Pouyanné said the company is remobilizing, aiming to start operations in 2029, as a fresh Eni investment decision underscored renewed confidence in the country’s gas prospects.
The Mozambique LNG project is a USD 20 billion onshore liquefied natural gas development located in Afungi, Cabo Delgado. It is designed with a nameplate capacity of 13 million tons per year (mtpa), based on two liquefaction trains.
The project timeline shows that in 2021, work was halted after an Islamist militant attack near Palma, which prompted the declaration of force majeure. On October 2, 2025, President Daniel Chapo announced that conditions are now in place for resumption. The project is forecast to come online in 2029 with its full design capacity of around 13 mtpa.
The suspension froze progress on a facility designed to export 13 million metric tons of LNG a year, equivalent to about 17% of Africa’s total LNG output in 2024.
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné told investors in New York this week that “everything is ready, in fact we are remobilizing on the ground.” He said partners and the government still need to finalize the updated plan and budget, but insisted the restart would move “very quickly,” reiterating that the project should begin in 2029.
TotalEnergies halted work in April 2021 after Islamic State-linked fighters attacked Palma near the Afungi LNG site. The 13-million-ton-per-year project has been seen as critical for Europe and Asia’s efforts to reduce reliance on Russian pipeline gas.
At the same time, Mozambique’s offshore momentum continues. Eni and its partners approved Coral North, a second floating LNG unit that follows the successful Coral South project, launched in 2022. This development could double Mozambique’s offshore LNG capacity and underscores renewed investor confidence.
A restart would reinforce TotalEnergies’ position as a leading global LNG supplier and strengthen Mozambique’s role as an emerging LNG hub. Formal lifting of force majeure and approval of an updated development plan remain pending, but both government and company signals suggest the project is on track for 2029.The project, known as Mozambique LNG, is now expected to start production in 2029, around five years later than initially planned. The French major has said previously that security, human rights, and community development benchmarks must be in place before resuming operations.
For TotalEnergies, the restart would help consolidate its position as the world’s second-largest listed LNG producer and narrow the gap with Shell. The project is backed by long-term offtake agreements with buyers in Asia and Europe, making it strategically important as Western nations pivot away from Russian gas.
Mozambique is emerging as a frontier LNG hub, with three large-scale projects under development. Alongside TotalEnergies’ onshore complex, Eni operates the Coral South floating LNG unit, which began shipments in 2022, and has just approved investment in a second floating facility. Exxon Mobil is also evaluating a separate onshore project.
