As part of his visit to the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique on February 3 to review the security and humanitarian situation, TotalEnergies CEO and chairperson Patrick Pouyanné entrusted Jean-Christophe Rufin, a recognised expert in humanitarian action and human rights, with an independent mission to assess the humanitarian situation in the province.

Pouyanné visited the Afungi industrial site, the resettlement village of Quitunda, the towns of Palma and Mocimboa da Praia and met with President Filipe Nyusi to discuss the security and humanitarian situation in Cabo Delgado province, where the Mozambique liquefied natural gas (LNG) project is located.

Rufin’s mission will also be to evaluate the actions taken by Mozambique LNG and propose any additional actions to be implemented, if required.

A report of this mission will be delivered at the end of February and its conclusions will be shared with all Mozambique LNG’s partners, who shall decide whether the conditions are met for resuming project activities.

In light of the changing security situation in the north of Cabo Delgado province, Mozambique LNG in April 2021 decided to withdraw all project personnel from the Afungi site. This situation also led the Mozambique LNG project partners to declare force majeure.

“Since 2021, the situation in Cabo Delgado province has improved significantly, thanks in particular to the support provided by the African countries that committed themselves to restore peace and security,” said Pouyanné.

“The lifting of the force majeure and the resumption of activities at the Mozambique LNG project site require, in particular, the restoration of security in the region, the resumption of public services and the return to normal life for the people of the region.

“The mission entrusted to Jean-Christophe Rufin should enable Mozambique LNG’s partners to assess whether the current situation allows for a resumption of activities while respecting human rights,” he added.

Mozambique LNG is the first onshore development of an LNG plant in the country. The project includes the development of the Golfinho and Atum fields located in Offshore Area 1 and the construction of two liquefaction trains with a total capacity of 13.1-million tonnes a year.

TotalEnergies EP Mozambique Area 1 Limitada, a wholly owned subsidiary of Total, holds a 26.5% interest in Mozambique LNG.

Rufin, a medical doctor, has been involved in the humanitarian movement since 1977 and has carried out numerous field missions in Nicaragua, Eritrea, Sudan and the Philippines.

He was VP of Doctors Without Borders from 1991 to 1992 and president of Action Against Hunger – ACF from 2003 to 2006.

He served as adviser to France’s Secretary of State for Human Rights from 1986 to 1988, cultural and cooperation attaché in Brazil from 1988 to 1989, adviser to the French Minister of Defence in charge of peacekeeping operations from 1993 to 1994, and as French Ambassador to Senegal and Gambia from 2007 to 2010.

Present in Mozambique since 1991, TotalEnergies operates in the exploration and production and marketing and services segments.