Eight Dead after Attack Near Mozambique LNG
Eight employed by a private construction firm working on the Total-led Mozambique LNG project were ambushed and killed by gunmen, the company said in a statement on July 5 carried by AFP and other news outlets.
Fenix Constructions Service, which is subcontracted by the French major, said five gunmen had attacked a vehicle carrying 14 passengers 4 km north of Mocimboa da Praia on Mozambique's northern coast and 50 km from the $20bn Mozambique LNG construction site. Eight were killed in the incident, while three survived and another three are missing.
Northern Mozambique has been in the grip of a jihadist insurgency since 2017, jeopardising the various gas export projects underway there. The frequency of attacks has increased over the past year. On the same day as the ambush, Islamist militants attacked and occupied Mocimboa de Praia for the second time this year, according to AFP, causing civilians to flee en masse.
Mozambique LNG is targeting 75 trillion ft3 of gas at the Golfinho and Atum gas fields in the Rovuma basin off the Mozambique coast. The $20bn project is due on stream by 2024, and will produce 13mn mt/yr of LNG at full capacity.
