TotalEnergies' $ 20 billion project for an LNG export facility in Mozambique is not expected to start operations until 2027 at the earliest, even if the French super-major quickly decides to suspend force majeure on the works and proceed with development.

"From the moment we restart production, we need another four years to build the facility," Stephane Le Galles, project manager at TotalEnergies, told Bloomberg during a visit to the construction site in northeastern Mozambique.

Exports from the plant could begin "in 2027 at the earliest", Le Galles added.

TotalEnergies suspended the project's construction in 2021 after attacks by Islamic militants in towns near the site.

The project site is close to the city of Palma, in Cabo Delgado province, where militants affiliated with the Islamic State have been operating for several years. In the spring of 2021, militants affiliated with the Islamic State invaded the city of Palma in attacks that left dozens dead.

TotalEnergies has not yet decided when to resume the project, with several conditions necessary for a positive decision, Le Galles said.

This includes the same project costs, an improved security situation, the return of Mozambican government officials to the cities of Palma and Mocímboa da Praia and an assessment of human rights conditions in Cabo Delgado province.

Last month, the CEO of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, visited Cabo Delgado and entrusted Jean-Christophe Rufin, a specialist in humanitarian action and human rights, an independent mission to assess the humanitarian situation in the province.

Saipem, the Italian engineering group that is TotalEnergies' subcontractor on the Mozambique project, plans to "gradually restart" work on the project, "according to information received from our clients, from July this year," said Saipem's CEO, Alessandro Puliti in a results conference call at the end of February.

While insurgents and attacks have paralyzed TotalEnergies' project in Mozambique, Italy's Eni started the first projects in November. LNG exports Mozambique's Coral gas field in the ultra-deep waters of the Rovuma Basin. (Integrity)