By Custodio Cossa and Manuel Mucari
MAPUTO (Reuters) -Mozambique is not looking to review contract terms with energy majors like TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil who are planning multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas projects in the country, its new president said on Friday.
Daniel Chapo of the long-ruling Frelimo party took office on Wednesday, following months of opposition protests against his disputed election victory in which civil society groups say more than 300 people have been killed.
The Southern African country’s government is banking on the energy projects by TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil and others to revolutionise its tiny economy and put shaky public finances on a surer footing.
Referring to TotalEnergies’ $20 billion project in the restive Cabo Delgado province, which has been on hold since 2021 when an Islamist insurgency threatened the site, Chapo said the government was not in a position to review terms because the French company was not yet producing gas.
“They are currently making investments, the contracts are new, that’s why for these cases there is no place for reviewing contracts, because they haven’t even come into force yet, in terms of operation,” he told Reuters in an interview.
A tall, imposing figure plucked from relative obscurity as governor of the gas-rich Inhambane province, Chapo, 48, is expected to seek to stamp his authority quickly after the post-election protests, which have disrupted foreign firms operating in Mozambique including Syrah Resources and Gemfields Group.
Chapo later on Friday announced a new energy and mineral resources minister, Estevao Pale, as part of a slew of new cabinet appointments. Pale was appointed chairman of Mozambique’s national oil company ENH in 2020.
TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil are looking to resume construction of their LNG projects soon as the security situation in Cabo Delgado has improved despite sporadic insurgent attacks continuing.
Mozambican authorities will continue fighting the insurgents with the support of Rwandan soldiers and neighbouring countries, Chapo said.
On the opposition protests against his election win, Chapo said dialogue was the only way to resolve them.
Asked about the siege of the Stilfontein illegal mine in South Africa, where over 1,000 Mozambicans were retrieved in a police operation that cut off food and water supplies over several months, Chapo said illegal mining was a problem also faced by Mozambique and difficult to control.
“For the South African government, that mine had already been closed. It’s a mine to forget. The situation that happened has already happened, unfortunately. And I feel very sad,” he said.
(Reporting by Custodio Cossa and Manuel Mucari;Additional reporting by Thando Hlope;Writing by Wendell Roelf;Editing by Alexander Winning and Toby Chopra)
