(Reuters) -ExxonMobil’s chief executive Darren Woods sought assurances from Mozambique’s president Daniel Chapo last week about security for a proposed $30 billion gas terminal in the country ahead of a decision to greenlight the project, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.
Woods raised concerns about the dangers posed by a jihadist insurgency in Mozambique’s north-eastern Cabo Delgado region, where Exxon is planning to build Africa’s largest LNG facility, the report said, citing sources with knowledge of the talks.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Exxon did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment. The Mozambican presidency could not be reached immediately.
Islamic State-linked militants launched an insurgency in the northern gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado in 2017, killing thousands of civilians, destroying livelihoods and internally displacing hundreds of thousands, aid agencies say. The insurgency has disrupted multi-billion-dollar energy projects.
Woods and Chapo also discussed plans by TotalEnergies to resume work on a nearby LNG facility being developed by the French oil major and lift a force majeure, the FT said.
TotalEnergies had halted work on the project and declared force majeure in 2021 after insurgents attacked the northern town of Palma, a logistics hub near the site.
“We strongly believe that the ExxonMobil project, if implemented, will make a huge difference in the economy of Mozambique and, as a consequence, in the life of Mozambicans,” Chapo told the FT in an emailed statement.
An Exxon spokesperson told the FT that the company is working closely with Total, the Mozambique government and its partners in the LNG project to ensure the right conditions are met to enable a final investment decision on the development.
(Reporting by Rhea Rose Abraham in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
