TotalEnergies eyes Mozambique LNG expansion as campaigners target shipping partners

TotalEnergies is considering accelerating a second phase of Mozambique LNG, while environmental and human-rights groups are urging its prospective shipping partners to withhold orders for vessels intended to carry the project’s gas.

Total chief executive Patrick Pouyanné said on Monday that the company could speed up expansion by retaining construction teams at Afungi and accessing additional gas resources through arrangements involving ExxonMobil’s neighbouring project.

Meanwhile, Mozambican environmental campaign group Justiça Ambiental and 25 co-signatories have written to three Japanese shipping companies asking them not to finalise orders for 17 LNG carriers associated with Mozambique LNG. The letter, dated 24 September, seeks responses by 6 October from Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line), and argues that unresolved human-rights allegations, community grievances and potential shipping overcapacity warrant withholding new commitments.

Disruption to Gulf gas exports due to Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has strengthened the appeal of supplies outside the Middle East, Pouyanne said, but he acknowledged that the same disruption had also affected equipment flows for the Mozambique project. The company nevertheless continues to target first LNG production in 2029, he said.