Mozambique, TotalEnergies in Final Talks to Restart $20B LNG Project and Unlock 17 LNG Carrier Orders
Maputo — Negotiations between Mozambique and TotalEnergies to restart the long-delayed liquefied natural gas (LNG) megaproject have reached their final phase, raising expectations for long-awaited LNG carrier orders from South Korea’s HD Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries.
The Mozambique LNG project — the largest foreign investment in African history — was halted in 2021 after TotalEnergies declared force majeure amid a worsening security situation in Cabo Delgado province.
The suspension not only froze upstream development but also put on hold a planned fleet of 40 LNG carriers, including 17 vessels under letters of intent (LOIs) signed in 2020 with the two South Korean shipbuilders.
According to industry outlet Tanzania Petroleum, Mozambican President Daniel Francisco Chapo met with TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné in early July, expressing his government’s commitment to fast-track talks. “Everything is progressing smoothly,” Chapo said, adding that negotiations should conclude by August.
The project focuses on developing the Golfinho and Atum gas fields in Area 1 offshore Mozambique and constructing two LNG liquefaction plants. Discovered in 2010, the fields hold an estimated 150 trillion cubic feet of proven reserves.
The $20 billion project, which reached final investment decision (FID) in 2019, is designed for a total production capacity of 43 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).
Under the original plan, HD Hyundai Samho was to build nine LNG carriers — ordered by Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (five vessels) and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (four vessels) — while Samsung Heavy Industries was to construct eight for Nippon Yusen Kaisha (four vessels) and Greece’s Maran Gas Maritime (four vessels).
With the restart now in sight, both shipbuilders have agreed to extend the LOI validity until the end of August 2025, reserving slots for the 17 LNG carriers.
However, financing remains a challenge. French banks BNP Paribas and Crédit Mutuel have both withdrawn from the project, ruling out participation in vessel financing or associated infrastructure.
The Export-Import Bank of Korea is reviewing potential investment to help bridge the funding gap.
If talks are finalized as planned, the restart could unlock billions in shipbuilding contracts and revive momentum for Mozambique’s ambitions to become a major LNG exporter.
