TotalEnergies Rejects War Crimes Allegations Amid Mozambique LNG Project Restart
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne has strongly rejected accusations that the French energy company bears responsibility for the alleged killing of civilians at its liquefied natural gas (LNG) project site in Mozambique four years ago.
The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) stated Tuesday that the company “is accused of having directly financed and materially supported” a Mozambican armed unit that allegedly detained, tortured, and killed dozens of civilians at the northern LNG site.
The ECCHR filed a criminal complaint with the French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor this week.
“We will defend ourselves and clarify that all these allegations have nothing to do with TotalEnergies,” Pouyanne said Wednesday on LCI television. “We conducted inquiries and never found any evidence supporting these claims.”
The complaint arrives as Total prepares to restart construction on the project, which has been suspended since 2021 due to Islamist insurgency attacks.
Other global corporations have faced similar legal scrutiny for operations in conflict zones, including Holcim Ltd.’s Lafarge trial in France over Syria operations, and a U.S. ruling against BNP Paribas relating to Sudan.
According to the ECCHR, citing Politico, Total is accused of “complicity in war crimes” through alleged financial links to a Mozambican army unit that reportedly held civilians in shipping containers, where dozens were tortured and killed between July and September 2021. Total had evacuated the site earlier that year following insurgent attacks and declared force majeure.
In 2023, Jean-Christophe Rufin, a former French ambassador hired by Total to review security and humanitarian concerns at the project, warned the developers against paying bonuses to Mozambique’s security forces protecting the site.
Total has called for government authorities to investigate the matter, with an official inquiry beginning in March. The company also requested that the Mozambican Commission on Human Rights conduct its own investigation.
“Our reputation is under attack once again because we are developing one of the world’s largest gas fields in Mozambique,” Pouyanne said, emphasizing the company’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
