NEW DELHI: The Indian government is pushing for restarting operations at a multi-billion-dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique in which Indian energy companies hold a 30 per cent stake.
Work at the French energy firm TotalEnergies-operated Mozambique LNG project in Cabo Delgado province in northern Mozambique was stalled in 2021 due to security threats and human rights problems.
Indian Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Sunday he held a “productive meeting” with Mozambique’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Carlos Zacarias and discussed an early resumption of operations.
Puri visited the site of the US$20 billion LNG project and underlined its “immense strategic importance” for India, which is the world’s fourth largest LNG importer.
Indian companies ONGC Videsh, Bharat Petroleum and Oil India Ltd are part of the joint venture that includes Mozambique’s ENH, Japan’s Mitsui & Co and Thailand’s PTTEP.
Mozambique LNG’s total reserves are estimated at 65 trillion cubic feet (TCF) and the project’s annual production capacity is expected to be 12 million tonnes.
Many people were killed in a terrorist raid, claimed by the “Al Shabaab” group, in March 2021 on the town of Palma near the Mozambique LNG project at the Afungi site.
TotalEnergies earlier this month rejected a legal case by some survivors and relatives of victims against it for “manslaughter and a failure to assist people in danger” during the attacks.
The French company said Mozambique LNG implemented the required measures to evacuate more than 2,500 people by air and sea.
Talking about the latest situation, TotalEnergies said security has improved significantly in Cabo Delgado since 2021 due to the efforts of the Mozambican government supported by Rwanda and southern African countries. – BERNAMA
