(Reuters) -Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods last week raised concerns about the risks that an insurgency movement posed to a proposed $30 billion gas terminal in Mozambique and sought security assurances from President Daniel Chapo before a decision to greenlight the project, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
Woods and Chapo also discussed plans by TotalEnergies to resume work on a nearby liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility being developed by the French oil major and lift a force majeure, the FT said, citing sources with knowledge of the talks.
Islamic State-linked militants launched an insurgency in the northern gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado in 2017, killing thousands of civilians and disrupting multibillion-dollar energy projects.
When TotalEnergies declared force majeure in 2021 due to an offensive by insurgents that threatened its Area 1 Mozambique LNG plant, Exxon was also affected due to the development of shared and common facilities, such as an LNG jetty and offloading facility.
In November last year, Exxon had said that it expects a final investment decision for its Rovuma liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique in 2026.
An Exxon spokesperson said on Tuesday that the oil major was working closely with partners to ensure the right conditions are met to enable the final investment decision and lifting of a force majeure at the Rovuma LNG project.
Exxon and its partner Eni are developing the Rovuma LNG project in offshore Area 4 in northern Mozambique, and it is expected to produce 18 million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG.
“We strongly believe that the Exxon Mobil project, if implemented, will make a huge difference in the economy of Mozambique and, as a consequence, in the life of Mozambicans,” Chapo told the FT in an emailed statement.
The Mozambican presidency did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
(Reporting by Rhea Rose Abraham in Bengaluru and Kanjyik Ghosh in Barcelona; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Marguerita Choy)
