TotalEnergies Confirms Mozambique LNG Restart As $4bn Project Resumes Construction

TotalEnergies has formally confirmed the restart of construction on its Mozambique LNG project, in a $4 billion fresh capital commitment that brings the long-stalled Cabo Delgado liquefaction development back into active build after nearly five years of force-majeure suspension following the 2021 security crisis.

The decision releases the contractor consortium led by McDermott and Saipem to mobilise back to site through May and June, with full construction activity expected to ramp through the second half of the year. The revised timeline targets first LNG cargoes by late 2029, against the original 2024 target — a delay of roughly five years that has reshaped the project's role within the global LNG supply curve and reduced the share of growth volumes the project will represent in the second half of the decade.

The security framework that has enabled the restart has been a multi-year effort. Mozambican government forces, supported by a combination of Rwandan and SADC regional military deployments, have substantially restored civilian security across the affected districts of Cabo Delgado over the past three years. TotalEnergies' own security assessment, conducted through 2025, confirmed the operating environment as adequate for construction crews to redeploy under enhanced protocols. Insurance markets have responded constructively, with Lloyd's-led specialty cover now back in place for project-specific construction risk.

The financing structure has been reset to reflect the new reality. The original $14.9 billion debt-financing package, the largest project-finance deal ever closed in Africa, has been restructured to extend tenor and reflect updated capital-cost assumptions. African Development Bank, US EXIM, JBIC, ECGD, and the smaller commercial-bank tranches all participated in the restructuring; the equity contribution from TotalEnergies and its partners ENH, Mitsui, and ONGC Videsh has been increased modestly to account for cost inflation through the suspension period.

For the wider African energy sector, the restart is a significant signal moment. Mozambique LNG was designed to be one of the largest single LNG export complexes globally, and its successful return to construction substantially shifts the credibility framework for several other long-stalled African gas projects in Tanzania, Senegal-Mauritania, and the wider Cabo Delgado complex. For LNG buyers, the project remains commercially significant for the late-decade supply picture, and the fresh long-term offtake activity that TotalEnergies has been signalling through Q1 supports a constructive demand outlook into the 2030s.