TotalEnergies has assured that the Mozambique Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) megaproject in Cabo Delgado will continue as planned, despite the withdrawal of financing from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. According to the company, the remaining consortium partners will cover the share of these two countries, equivalent to 10% of the total external financing.
“The Mozambique LNG project partners have unanimously agreed to provide additional capital to replace the contributions of UKEF (United Kingdom) and Atradius (Netherlands), representing approximately 10% of the external financing in total,” TotalEnergies stated in a press release, according to Lusa.
UKEF and Atradius were part of a group of about 30 financiers that, in 2020, agreed on a support package worth $15.4 billion (984 billion meticais) for the Mozambique LNG project, led by TotalEnergies. After being suspended for four years due to the insurgency in Cabo Delgado, the project officially resumed last October, with the lifting of the ‘force majeure’ status.
The two countries cited concerns over increased risks and alleged human rights violations, which TotalEnergies disputes. The company lamented that the reports commissioned by the Dutch Government were prepared without site visits and were based on third-party sources.
Regarding UKEF’s exit, the British contribution was valued at $1.1 billion (73.5 billion meticais), an amount that has already been replaced, TotalEnergies assured. The same applies to the Atradius share from the Netherlands. President Daniel Chapo stated on Saturday that the human rights violation allegations are unfounded. According to the Head of State, an investigation conducted by the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) found no evidence of the alleged violations.
Despite the withdrawal of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, TotalEnergies confirmed that 90% of the original financiers have already reaffirmed their commitment to the project, valued at $20 billion (1.2 trillion meticais).
The Government granted TotalEnergies a 30-day period to present the schedule for resuming the project works, considered essential for boosting the national economy and attracting foreign investment.
Source: Diário Económico
