The French oil company TotalEnergies is pressuring the Mozambican Government to create security conditions in Cabo Delgado in order to resume the exploration activities of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), in the Rovuma Basin, according to the President of the Republic.

Filipe Nyusi revealed, this Thursday, in Maputo, that he has had talks with the president of Total, Patrick Jean Pouyanné, and that in the talks they never raised the possibility of the oil company not returning to the field.

"We never come to think that Total may not come back.... It is Total that puts pressure on the government for the state to do its part," Nyusi said on the sidelines of the African Agenda Business Meeting of the Community of Chairmen of Boards of Directors and Chief Executive Officers.

However, Nysui said that if for some reason the multinational permanently suspends its operations, the gas will not disappear and could be handed over to another firm.

"We don't hypothesize that Total won't come back. But well, in case that happens, the gas is there [...] there are those who can exploit it as well. It's not a product that disappears. But we don't think in the negative", he warned, recognizing the role of the company in supporting the development of the youth in Cabo Delgado.

This permanent dialogue with Total was announced yesterday by the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Carlos Zacarias, who certified the return of the firm and resumption of operations for this year, "even though there are only a few months left to go.

Total, whose consortium will invest more than $20 billion in LNG exploration, has suspended development of the project in the region due to a 2021 attack around the development's infrastructure in the Palma district of Cabo Delgado.