Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) CEO Darren Woods sought assurances last week from Mozambique’s president Chapo about security for a proposed $30 billion liquefied natural gas export terminal before making a decision to greenlight the project, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.
Woods reportedly raised the dangers posed by a jihadist insurgency in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado region, where Exxon (NYSE:XOM) is planning to build Africa’s largest LNG facility.
Woods and Chapo also discussed plans by TotalEnergies (TTE) to resume work on a nearby LNG facility being developed by the French company and lift a force majeure that was issued in 2021 following a deadly attack by Islamists in the region, according to the report; TotalEnergies’ force majeure also affected Exxon (XOM) due to the development of shared and common facilities, such as an LNG jetty and offloading facility.
Rovuma LNG, an Exxon-led (XOM) joint venture backed by Italy’s Eni (E) and China’s CNPC, has been on hold ever since, and last year Exxon delayed its final investment decision on the project from late 2025 into 2026.
The meeting between Woods, Exxon’s (XOM) head of upstream Dan Ammann, and Chapo took place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Chapo told FT.
An Exxon (XOM) spokesperson said the company is working closely with TotalEnergies (TTE), the Mozambique government and its partners in the Rovuma LNG project to ensure the right conditions are met to enable a final investment decision on the project.