TotalEnergies Rejects War-Crimes Allegations Tied to Mozambique LNG

TotalEnergies (TTE) has issued a detailed rebuttal to allegations filed before France’s National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office, rejecting claims that the company or its Mozambique LNG project was complicit in war crimes, torture, or enforced disappearances in Cabo Delgado in 2021.

The complaint, submitted “against persons unknown and against TotalEnergies,” stems from a September 2024 Politico investigation alleging that Mozambican soldiers committed abuses near the Afungi LNG site between June and September 2021. TotalEnergies says the accusations are baseless, emphasizing that all project personnel were evacuated in early April 2021 after the Islamic State–affiliated Al-Shabab attack on Palma.

TotalEnergies states that neither it nor the Mozambique LNG consortium received any information in 2021 indicating that abuses had occurred, and says internal checks and stakeholder outreach turned up no evidence supporting Politico’s claims. The company also states that Politico has refused to share underlying data or supporting documentation for the allegations.

Cabo Delgado has been an insurgency hotspot since 2017, with Islamist militants targeting villages, infrastructure and government forces. The Palma assault in March 2021, one of the conflict’s deadliest episodes, forced the full evacuation of LNG operations and halted the multibillion-dollar development.

Following the evacuation, Mozambican security forces took control of the Afungi site and surrounding infrastructure during counter-insurgency operations—an environment in which the contested allegations emerged. Human rights reporting in the region remains complex, given fragmented oversight and ongoing conflict conditions.

The company says it has interacted extensively with Politico since the article’s publication, publicly posting the full correspondence after accusing the outlet of selectively quoting company responses. TotalEnergies argues that both the complaint and related media narratives improperly link the company to violent episodes associated with Mozambique’s broader security crisis.

TotalEnergies highlighted that security for the LNG project was managed under a now-expired Memorandum of Understanding between Mozambique and project operators. The MoU required training of more than 5,000 security personnel in the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, established a grievance mechanism, and allowed for removal of security officers for misconduct.

According to the company, none of the grievances filed through these mechanisms supported the accusations referenced in the complaint.

Mozambique LNG formally asked Mozambican authorities to open an investigation in late 2024, and in March 2025 the country’s Attorney General confirmed that a criminal probe was underway. TotalEnergies says it is cooperating fully and has also requested an independent investigation by Mozambique’s National Human Rights Commission, pledging to publish its findings.

The company pointed to its 2022 independent assessment by Jean-Christophe Rufin, which reviewed humanitarian conditions in Cabo Delgado and led to a 2023 action plan expanding local development and community-support programs. TotalEnergies reiterated that the long-term socio-economic stability of the province remains central to the project’s objectives.

Mozambique LNG—where TotalEnergies holds a 26.5% stake—remains one of the largest LNG developments planned in sub-Saharan Africa, though its restart timeline continues to hinge on security conditions in northern Mozambique.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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