Maputo, May 27, 2026 (Lusa) – An audit into the costs claimed by TotalEnergies for the nearly five-year suspension of its Mozambique gas megaproject due to extremist attacks has found a discrepancy of €1.720 billion, sources close to the process told Lusa.
TotalEnergies presented preliminary expenses of just over US$5 billion (€4.295 billion), claiming "force majeure" following the April 2021 attacks in Cabo Delgado. However, the same sources said that only about 60% of these expenses were documented, totalling around US$3 billion (€2.576 billion).
Sources connected to the process explained to Lusa that this results in a difference of US$2 billion (€1.720 billion) compared to the initial claim by TotalEnergies, the concessionaire for Area 1 in the Rovuma Basin. The French oil major is currently awaiting Mozambique's government approval for the development plan presented by Mozambique Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for that area.
"The government of Mozambique confirms that it commissioned an audit, which is public knowledge. It is now in its final phase, and we regret that we cannot comment on the work being carried out at this time. We will do so at the appropriate moment," a government source told Lusa.
The audit on cost recovery for the LNG projects in the Rovuma Basin was requested from the British specialised consultancy Bayphase. The firm's official website says it was hired to analyse the process, specifically "to ensure that the costs associated with production operations complied with fair market values."
The audit also aimed to ensure the "validation of all claimed recoverable costs to guarantee they complied with the definitions and accounting procedures included in the production concession contract for each area", among other aspects.
Mozambique's President Daniel Chapo and TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné officially launched the resumption of the LNG megaproject on 29 January, nearly five years after its suspension due to the attacks.
"The 'force majeure' is over," Patrick Pouyanné said at the time, underlining that it represents TotalEnergies' largest investment in Africa and adding: "As President [Chapo] says, 'let's get to work'."
Daniel Chapo and Patrick Pouyanné visited the construction site for the LNG production complex in Afungi, Palma district, on that day to mark the resumption.
"While the cost-verification process is ongoing, the project will not stop," Chapo said.
A cabinet meeting resolution dated 19 November mandated "an independent audit, contracted by the government, into the costs incurred by the project during the 'force majeure' period." Decreed in April 2021, the "force majeure" was formally lifted by TotalEnergies, leader of the Area 1 consortium, on 7 November, and its results require "validation by the government" to "ensure a transparent and impartial process".
The resolution also defines that "the initial development and production validity period of 30 years is ensured", as established in the February 2018 resolution approving the Golfinho/Atum Field Development Plan, located in the northern part of Offshore Area 1 of the Rovuma Basin, "to account for the suspension caused by 'force majeure' and the subsequent remobilisation."
The four-and-a-half-year period of "force majeure" does not count towards the concession duration, although TotalEnergies formally proposed an extension of more than 10 years to compensate for alleged losses and costs since 2021. The government has repeatedly stressed that the decision to suspend the US$20 billion (€17.5 billion) megaproject was unilateral.
TotalEnergies expects to begin LNG deliveries from the first line to be installed in Afungi in the first half of 2029.
PVJ/RYOL // AYLS
Lusa
