A group of 124 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are demanding that the French oil company TotalEnergies abandon its operations in northern Mozambique. They say that the multinational is not an oil company that can be trusted.

The group released a letter, quoted by DW, in which they state that the current 'force majeure' decreed by the oil company is an opportunity for banks and financial institutions to "reconsider their involvement in the project", which will have proved "disastrous" even before it starts.

TotalEnergies is the leader of the Area 1 consortium in the Rovuma Basin in Cabo Delgado for a natural gas exploration project. The oil company started the project, but suspended it early on due to the armed insurgency in the province.

The group of NGOs wants a "true, comprehensive and independent" evaluation of the project to be carried out before any decision is considered. Civil society wants to be part of that evaluation.

They also demand that support for the other existing gas projects in Cabo Delgado be suspended, namely Rovuma LNG and Coral North LNG."

The missive targets financial institutions such as the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, Afreximbank and the African Development Bank, as well as private institutions such as Société Générale, Crédit Agricole, JP Morgan, Standard Chartered and ABSA Bank, writes DW.

In the view of the NGOs, continued investment in gas in Cabo Delgado will perpetuate the armed conflicts and the permanence of the military contingent in the province.