Construction work on the Total SA liquefied natural gas plant in June.
Total SE has asked some people to evacuate its $ 20 billion liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique, as Islamic militants carry out attacks closer to the site.
Fighters linked to the Islamic State this week raided a city less than 5 kilometers from the construction camp over Africa’s largest private investment, increasing the risks to the planned LNG export terminal on the northern coast of Mozambique. While the heavily guarded terrain has not yet been attacked, militant threats have made them allowed to do so.
Total “has temporarily reduced its staff on site in response to the prevailing environment,” the company said in an email on Friday. The situation is constantly reviewed.
Read more: Mozambican insurgents launch closest attack to Total LNG site
The Southern African nation has so far struggled to contain an uprising in Cabo Delgado province that began in October 2017, killing about 2,500 people while asking 570,000 to flee their homes. .
Mozambique hopes that LNG projects such as Total will transform one of the poorest countries in the world and catapult it as a major global exporter of fuel.
The coronavirus pandemic further weighed the decision to reduce staff, Total said.
The Mozambican LNG project, which began production in 2024, was home to the country’s first cases of coronavirus in April, which led to the works being suspended until June. A new outbreak was detected at the project last month, Maputo’s news website @Verdade reports.
Total has a 26.5% stake in the project it bought in September 2019 for $ 3.9 billion.
– With help by Borges Nhamire