The United Kingdom Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Mozambique Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) development – an integrated offshore gas field and onshore LNG facility spearheaded by French-based energy major TotalEnergies – enabling the major to continue developing the highly-anticipated project.
Environmentalist group Friends of the Earth sought to restrict the development of the project through a legal challenge, citing incompatibility with the Paris Climate Agreement.
Following the application submission in December 2022 – whereby the group requested that the government examine the decision to fund the project – the Court of Appeal dismissed the application earlier this year, a ruling which has now been declared to officially stand.
The ruling marks good news, both for the energy major and for Mozambique itself, enabling the development of the project to continue.
Upon completion, the Mozambique LNG project will process natural gas from the Golfinho-Atum gas field located in Area 1 Block of the deepwater Rovuma Basin. The onshore LNG facility will produce a total of 12.8 million tons per annum, with a final investment decision made in 2019. The project is estimated to cost $20 billion and will provide LNG to a region in high-need of reliable energy.
Earlier this year, TotalEnergies Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné visited the project site to review the security situation following the company declaring force majeure in 2021. While the timeline for development has not yet been announced, both the energy major and the Government of Mozambique remain committed to getting the project back on track.
