ExxonMobil has again delayed giving the final go-ahead for its $30bn LNG project in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado region after an Islamic State-linked insurgency left dozens dead and forced its French counterpart Total to reduce the workforce at its own $20bn development at Afungi – Africa’s largest private-sector investment to date – to a bare minimum and postpone scheduled work. The delay casts doubt on the French oil and gas giant’s plans to deliver Mozambique LNG’s first cargoes in 2024 and is also “a major setback” for the government and “raises serious questions about its ability to guarantee the security of LNG projects,” according to Alexandre Raymakers, senior Africa analyst at Verisk Maplecroft in Cape Town.
Mozambique is one of the world’s poorest countries and was realistically hoping to attract as much as $120bn from global energy majors as it vied for a seat at the top table of LNG providers. LNG is seen as a ‘transition fuel’ in the journey towards a post-carbon future.