French oil giant Total halts Mozambique gas project after attacks

French energy giant Total has confirmed it is suspending work on a massive $20 billion gas project in northern Mozambique following the latest militant assault on a nearby town last month.

"In the current environment, Total can no longer operate in the Cabo Delgado province in a safe and efficient manner," a Total spokesperson told AFP news agency on Monday.

"All project personnel have been removed from the site and will not return until conditions allow," the spokesperson added, saying "it is too early to provide an updated project schedule".

Total removed its staff from the Afungi peninsula natural gas site after a militant raid in the nearby town of Palma on March 24 left dozens of people dead.

It had already evacuated some workers and suspended construction in January following a series of extremist attacks nearby.

Total said that it was declaring a "force majeure" situation beyond its control, a legal concept meaning it can suspend fulfilling contractual obligations.

READ MORE: France's Total reportedly evacuates staff, shuts gas site in Mozambique

'Total hasn't abandoned the project'

The declaration "will remain in effect until the Government of Mozambique has restored security and stability in the province... in a verifiable and sustainable manner," the company added –– although it "remains committed to Mozambique and to the development" at Afungi.

A military source told AFP earlier this month that Total evacuated all of its staff after drone surveillance showed insurgents were in areas "very close" to the gas plant.

Last week, the Confederation of Economic Associations of Mozambique (CTA) said Total had already suspended contracts with a series of businesses indirectly involved in the gas project.

The National Petroleum Institute (INP), a Mozambique government body that governs energy projects, said on Monday that Total "may not fulfil contractual obligations and could suspend or cancel further contracts, depending how long the halt (to construction) lasts."

Nevertheless, "Total hasn't abandoned the project," INP chief Carlos Zacarias told reporters in capital Maputo, adding that "the main contracts between Total and its major contractors remain in force".

READ MORE: Thousands find refuge after attack in Mozambique's Palma town

Troubled region 

Gas-rich Cabo Delgado has been battered by a bloody militant insurgency since 2017 by a group known locally as Al Shabab.

It's different from Somalia's Al Shabab group.  

The violence has killed at least 2,600 people according to NGO Acled, while Maputo said last week that more than 700,000 have been displaced.

Its scale raised doubts over the viability of the biggest single investment in Africa even before the latest raid.

The March attack on Palma took place just 10 km from the gas project's nerve centre, despite a government commitment to set up a 25-km security radius around the site.

Hundreds of people, including many foreign workers, were evacuated by air and sea while thousands of locals walked to nearby districts. 

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