‘Insurgents in attack near Mozambique LNG site hours after Total said safe for workers' return’ 25 March 2021

Islamist insurgents have attacked Palma village in Mozambique close to Total’s Afungi liquefied natural gas complex, just hours after the French supermajor agreed it was safe for workers to gradually return to the construction site. These latest attacks throw into turmoil plans to restart serious construction activities on Total’s $20 billion Mozambique LNG project. They also raise questions about security in the Palma area, which, after an attack by insurgents in December 2020, led to non-essential staff being evacuated from the Afungi site. On Wednesday, Total agreed that security had improved enough in the area — including a 25-kilometre protective cordon around Afungi — to allow workers to start returning.

…Opperman tweeted that expatriate workers had been given a deadline of 4pm (GMT) on Thursday to be evacuated by sea from Palma, ahead of a major offensive by Mozambique’s military. Total had not responded to requests for comment by Upstream before publication. Lusa reported that workers of different nationalities linked to activities at the LNG site fled into the bush along with most residents after armed groups attacked the district headquarters, according to witnesses.