TotalEnergies Resumes Construction on $20bn Mozambique LNG Project

French energy giant TotalEnergies has restarted construction of its $20 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique, nearly five years after violence in the country’s northeast forced the company to suspend operations.

Company executives and Mozambican officials announced the relaunch on Thursday at a ceremony near the Afungi construction site in Cabo Delgado province. TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné and Mozambique’s president, Daniel Chapo, attended the event. The move follows TotalEnergies’ confirmation in late January 2026 that it would resume all onshore and offshore activities on the Mozambique LNG project.

TotalEnergies halted construction in April 2021 after attacks linked to an Islamist insurgency led to staff evacuations and a force majeure declaration. Security conditions in Cabo Delgado remain fragile, but a combination of military stabilisation efforts and commercial considerations has brought the project back onto an active development path.

Strategic importance of Mozambique LNG

Mozambique LNG has long formed a core part of TotalEnergies’ African strategy. Its significance increased in 2019 when the French group acquired Anadarko’s African assets. The deal included the purchase of Anadarko’s 26.5% stake in the project for $3.9 billion and made TotalEnergies the operator of Area 1 in the Rovuma Basin, one of Africa’s largest offshore gas discoveries.

The project centres on two liquefaction trains with a combined capacity of about 13 million tonnes per year, supplied by the Golfinho and Atum gas fields. TotalEnergies took a final investment decision in June 2019, after securing most of the output through long-term contracts with buyers in Asia and Europe.

Financing and construction progress

The project secured financing a year later through a $14.9 billion senior debt package that brought together export credit agencies, commercial banks, and an African multilateral lender. Total investment stands at about $20 billion. After the 2021 suspension, some public-backed financial support did not return, but TotalEnergies said additional equity contributions from project partners filled the gap.

When work resumed, construction had reached about 40% completion, with thousands of workers expected to return to the site. TotalEnergies now targets first LNG production in 2029, ten years after the original investment decision.

With major capital already deployed, equipment delivered, and long-term sales contracts in place, Mozambique LNG has moved beyond a point where withdrawal appears realistic. The restart suggests how big the scale of the economic stakes involved, while security and political challenges continue to shape the project’s development.

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