India's state oil company will invest $1.8 billion over the next three to four years in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) exploration project led by France's TotalEnergies.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) is hopeful for the re(start) of activities in the first half of next year, given the progress achieved by the Government in the fight against terrorism in Cabo Delgado province, where gas prospecting activities are taking place.

BPCL has a 10% stake in the project and a e 15-year contract for 1 million tons (mtpa) of LNG per year.

"The project will resume as soon as the security situation is stabilized in a sustainable manner" said BPCL Chairman/Managing Director Arun Kumar Singh.

In addition to BPCL, state-owned ONGC and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) each have a 10% stake in the multi-million dollar natural gas development project off Mozambique's northern coast.

TotalEnergies has a 26.5% stake, along with Mozambique's state-owned ENH, which has 15%, Japan's Mitsui and Jogmec have 10% each, and Thailand's PTT has 8.5%.