Construction work on the liquefied natural gas plant Total SA in June.
Total SE asked some staff members to abandon Mozambique’s $ 20 billion liquefied natural gas project as Islamist militants stage attacks closer and closer to the site.
Islamic State-linked fighters stormed a city less than 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the construction site of Africa’s largest private investment this week, causing risks to the LNG export terminal in the northern coast of Mozambique. Although the heavily guarded site has not yet been attacked, militants have threatened to do so.
Total “has temporarily reduced its on-site staff in response to the dominant environment,” the company said in an email response to questions Friday. The situation is being continually reviewed, he said.
Read more: Mozambican insurgents present the closest attack to the Total LNG site
The South African nation has so far fought to contain an insurgency in Cabo Delgado province that began in October 2017 and killed some 2,500 people while causing 570,000 to flee their homes.
Mozambique expects LNG projects such as Total to transform one of the world’s poorest countries and catapult it to become the world’s largest exporter of fuel.
The coronavirus pandemic has weighed even more heavily on the decision to downsize staff, Total said.
Mozambique’s LNG project, which would begin production in 2024, was the site where the country’s first coronavirus cases occurred in April, leading to the suspension of works until June. A new outbreak in the project was detected last month, according to the Maputo-based news website @Verdade.
Total has a 26.5% stake in the project which it bought for $ 3.9 billion in September 2019.
– With the assistance of Borges Nhamire