Mozambique and TotalEnergies TTEF.PA will relaunch development of the French energy major's $20-billion liquefied natural gas plant on Thursday, nearly five years after it was put on hold following a deadly attack by Islamist militants.

Construction of the project was halted in 2021. But TotalEnergies, which has taken extra equity with its partners after some backers pulled out, said late last year it was ready to resume work at the site in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.

Mozambique's President Daniel Chapo and TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne were due to attend a ceremony marking its relaunch, the government said.

"The resumption of the project ... represents a significant milestone for the national economy and reaffirms the confidence of international partners in the energy, institutional and human potential of Mozambique," a statement from Chapo's office said.

Total confirmed the government's announcement but declined to provide further details.

SECURITY HAS IMPROVED, BUT COSTS HAVE RISEN
Security has improved in Cabo Delgado, particularly with the special deployment of Rwandan soldiers around the Afungi construction site. The Islamist insurgency, though weakened, continues to simmer, however.

With capacity to produce 13-million metric tons of LNG annually, the project is expected to make Mozambique a major gas exporter, transforming the poor African nation's economy when it begins producing in 2029. But it has been dogged by security, finance and human rights issues that have spooked some investors.

In October, TotalEnergies wrote to Chapo estimating that the project's costs had risen by $4.5-billion in the years it had been on hold. It said the consortium wanted the development and production period extended by ten years as partial compensation.

It is unclear whether these extra cost issues have been resolved after Chapo said Mozambique had "counter-arguments" to this amount.

TotalEnergies has a 26.5% stake in the Mozambique LNG consortium. Japan's Mitsui owns 20%, with ENH at 15%, and Bharat Petroleum, Oil India, and ONGC Videsh all on 10%. Thailand's PTTEP holds the remaining 8.5% stake.