Patrick Pouyanné, the head of the French energy company Total, and Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo took it into their own hands. Last week they flew together to the north of Mozambique. Total wants it there Construction of a liquid gas plant move forward further.
The $20 billion project, one of the most expensive investments in Africa, has been at a standstill for almost five years. The cause was an attack on the LNG plant in April 2021. The militia “Islamic State of Mozambique” (ISM), which is close to the “Islamic State”, attacked the population in the northeastern province of Cabo Delgado. In the spring it had parts of the peninsula near the town of Palma, on whose shores the LNG plant is being built, under its control.
Total withdrew its employees for security reasons and left the facility to soldiers from the Mozambican army – they were supposed to guard it and were paid by Total to do so.
What then happened on the premises Journalists only discovered it in 2024. Reporters investigated on site that hundreds of residents of a village had fled towards the gas production facility after an ISM attack in April 2021. There the soldiers separated the villagers. They housed women and children separately. The approximately 200 men viewed them as collaborators with the militia and locked them in containers. After three months of abuse, with little oxygen and food in the containers, only 26 of the men survived.
Investigations in France
Investigations have been launched in Mozambique and France. In November 2025 the European Center for Human Rights (ECCHR) handed over a complaint to the French public prosecutor’s office.
Security now appears to have been restored in Cabo Delgado. “In particular, the government confirmed all measures taken to ensure security and continued cooperation with Rwanda,” he said Totally in one statement.
Rwanda’s well-trained army sent around 4,000 soldiers and police officers in July 2021 to work together with Mozambique’s ailing army against the ISM militia. Since 2022, these have also secured the overland road from the port city of Mocímboa da Praia to Palma, which is important for the delivery of building materials and turbines for the LNG plant.
By the time construction stopped, around 40 percent of the facility had been completed. “There will be a massive increase in activity in the coming months (…). A first offshore vessel has already been mobilized to start installing the offshore infrastructure,” said Total boss Pouyanné at a ceremony in Afungi, which is close to the project site. “We now have a clear goal in mind: LNG delivery by 2029 with a budget of $20 billion.”
The 5-year shutdown has pushed the already enormous costs even higher – to around $4.5 billion. Mozambique’s President Chapo said that both sides would negotiate after the cost review was completed. “It is clear that the negotiations will not hinder the progress of the project. A restart is inevitable,” said Chapo.