Maputo, July 10, 2026 (Lusa) - TotalEnergies is strengthening the security infrastructure of the Mozambique LNG project in Palma, Cabo Delgado, with plans to install 120 CCTV cameras, 28 mini-substations, 30 kilometres of fibre-optic cable and a power ring.
The initiative forms part of a series of measures aimed at protecting the high-security perimeter fence surrounding the facilities of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) megaproject, located in a province that has been experiencing an armed insurgency since October 2017, which has affected more than 6,600 people and 1.1 million displaced individuals.
According to details from a tender launched by the Area 1 consortium, the system will comprise a perimeter fence equipped with round-the-clock video surveillance, perimeter lighting, access control and an integrated electronic security management system designed to monitor the entire industrial complex.
In addition to the approximately 120 surveillance cameras, plans include installing a local area network dedicated to the CCTV system, comprising around 100 outdoor units equipped with CCTV, as well as a fibre-optic backbone comprising approximately 30 kilometres of 48-fibre single-mode cable.
The project also includes the construction of 28 mini-substations, the installation of an approximately 30-kilometre-long 11-kilovolt electrical ring, and all necessary infrastructure to ensure power and communications for the security system.
The works also include trenching, foundations, engineering, construction, pre-commissioning and commissioning of the equipment.
To implement this plan, TotalEnergies has issued a call for expressions of interest for companies interested in supplying, installing, and maintaining the complete surveillance and security system, acknowledging the possibility of subcontracting part of the work under the main contractor's responsibility.
The strengthening of security infrastructure comes at a time when the Mozambique LNG project has been resuming, since 1 January, following its suspension in April 2021, when TotalEnergies invoked the force majeure clause in the wake of the armed attacks on the village of Palma.
However, with the resumption of the project, the French multinational currently facilitates access to the site, where it estimates 10,000 jobs will be created, exclusively by air or sea, for security reasons.
On 1 March this year, TotalEnergies’ chair, Patrick Pouyanné, stated in Brussels that the security conditions for the project’s continuation had been met. “Security is good today. We will continue to work,” he said at the time, assuring that the project “will never stop again”.
Pouyanné also emphasised that the company is committed to pressing ahead with the construction of what he described as TotalEnergies’ largest investment in Africa.
The formal resumption of works took place on 29 January, when Mozambique's president, Daniel Chapo, who visited the site with Patrick Pouyanné, described the project’s restart as a symbol of “resilience, courage and determination”, stating that it is one of the most important investments for the Mozambican economy.
Valued at around $20 billion (€17.5 billion), the Mozambique LNG project is set to produce 13 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas per annum (mtpa) from reserves in the Rovuma Basin, off the coast of Cabo Delgado province.
Mozambique has three approved mega-development projects for the exploitation of the Rovuma Basin’s LNG reserves – ranked among the largest in the world – off the coast of Cabo Delgado, including this one by TotalEnergies and another by ExxonMobil (18 mtpa), worth 30 billion dollars (26.1 billion euros), which is awaiting a final investment decision in Afungi.
The Italian company Eni is also advancing its project, which has been producing around seven mtpa since 2022 from the Coral Sul floating platform; this capacity is set to double from 2028 with the Coral Norte platform, representing an investment of $7.2 billion (€6.2 billion), with the oil company already considering a third unit.
PVJ/ADB // ADB.
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