TotalEnergies is adding a renewables layer to its flagship Mozambique LNG project, launching a tender for a 7.1 megawatt photovoltaic plant in Cabo Delgado as construction of the liquefied natural gas production unit continues to ramp back up. The request for expressions of interest (EOI), issued for engineering, construction and procurement services, covers a plant to be installed in Afungi, within the Area 1 LNG megaproject that TotalEnergies operates as consortium lead.
The facility will comprise “approximately 13,224 photovoltaic modules” already procured by TotalEnergies across roughly 6.5 hectares, with the winning contractor responsible for installation and operation. The move dovetails with comments made by TotalEnergies President Patrick Pouyanné in February, when he outlined ambitions to support local electricity development across Africa alongside the company’s export-oriented gas strategy. Pouyanné floated a scenario in which Mozambican gas underpins both domestic power and regional export. “One can imagine bringing liquefied natural gas to a terminal in southern Mozambique, building a gas-fired power plant and exporting electricity to South Africa, while also using part of the energy for Mozambique. We need to find a good balance between exports and local development and TotalEnergies should contribute to energy supply on the continent,” said Pouyanne.
The solar tender arrives against the backdrop of a project whose timeline has been repeatedly reshaped by security conditions. Construction at Afungi Bay officially resumed on 29 January, after operations had been suspended since April 2021, when TotalEnergies invoked force majeure over terrorist attacks in the region. It took four and a half years until October 2025 for international financing to be reconfirmed and for TotalEnergies to lift the force majeure clause and begin remobilising, citing improved local security. The knock-on effect on delivery has been substantial with first LNG production, originally slated for July 2024, is now projected for the first half of 2029.
Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado hosts three approved LNG megaprojects tapping the Rovuma Basin’s reserves, among the largest gas discoveries globally. Alongside TotalEnergies’ project sits ExxonMobil’s 18 million-tonnes-per-year development, valued at US$30 billion (€26.1 billion) and still awaiting final investment decision. Italy’s Eni is furthest along, having produced from its Coral Sul floating platform since 2022 at around seven million tonnes per year, output set to double from 2028 via the US$7.2 billion (€6.2 billion) Coral Norte platform, with a third unit also planned. For a region where LNG capital has historically arrived detached from local power infrastructure, TotalEnergies’ solar tender is a modest but notable departure, a signal that gas majors operating in Mozambique may increasingly be expected to pair megaproject economics with tangible local energy dividends.
