Four years after suspending operations at a liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique’s Afungi Peninsula following insurgent attacks in the nearby village of Palma, French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies and its partners have decided to lift their force majeure, local media reported. The company communicated the decision to the Mozambican government on Oct. 24. It also requested some amendments to the project plan, including a 10-year extension on its production license. TotalEnergies’ resumption of work on the LNG plant still awaits government approval of its proposed timeline and budget. Still, activity around the planned LNG site has been ramping up over the past year, said Daniel Ribeiro of the Mozambican environmental organization Justiça Ambiental, in a phone interview with Mongabay. He estimated that around 1,000 people — including subcontractors, private firms and TotalEnergies staff — are already working in the area. Observers and civil society organizations say the security situation remains precarious at the site. They also warn that major issues persist, including environmental impacts, unresolved land compensation for resettled communities, and the exposure of nearby villages to heightened security risks. “Total has gone to a closed enclave setup where they want to increase the security of their project area, the Afungi site, in which they have a lot of security. But that model will expose the communities to the insurgents more,” Ribeiro said. He added that TotalEnergies receives security support from the Mozambican army as well as forces from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Rwanda. Ribeiro…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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