The Mozambican government has strengthened the legal provisions governing force majeure following its “bitter” experience with TotalEnergies, which declared force majeure in 2021 on the Mozambique LNG project because of insecurity in Cabo Delgado. The new rules stipulate that each party bears its own costs and that, after a year of suspension, the government and the concessionaire must assess the future of the contract without financial liabilities for the government.
Law No. 8/2026 of 3 June, which regulates petroleum activities, introduces rules for managing force majeure situations, including the revision, amendment or termination of concession contracts when an event of this nature remains unresolved for a year.
The change comes amid disagreements between the government and the French multinational over costs associated with the suspension of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Rovuma Basin.
Sources at the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy and the National Petroleum Institute (INP), the sector’s regulator, told AIM that the legislative change took into account the experience of the force majeure declared by TotalEnergies and an analysis of legal frameworks adopted by other African countries.
Article 72 of the new law stipulates that, for the duration of a force majeure event, each party bears its own costs, and the state is not required to compensate the concessionaire or reimburse expenses incurred by it. The provision also requires concession contracts to stipulate that the state is exempt from financial liabilities, in accordance with the law.
“If this happens for a year, the parties sit down or terminate the contract, but without any burden on the government, on the state,” explained a source who was involved in drafting the legislation.
The same provision states that, if a year has elapsed since force majeure was declared and the event has not been fully resolved, the government and the concessionaire must meet to assess the situation and agree on measures to minimise the impact. The parties may, by mutual agreement, decide to terminate, amend or review the contract.
The multinational declared force majeure in 2021 following a deterioration in the security situation in Cabo Delgado, suspending development activities on the project, which is valued at approximately US$20 billion.
In October 2025, the company informed the government that additional costs associated with the suspension period amounted to US$4.5 billion. TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné requested approval of the updated budget and a 10-year extension of the development and production period, while also proposing that production begin in the first half of 2029.
The Mozambican government disputed the amounts claimed, and an independent audit of the costs submitted by the concessionaire was carried out.
Sources close to the process recently told the international press, including Reuters and Africa Intelligence, that the audit had identified a difference of about US$2 billion between the amounts initially claimed and the documented expenses.
The suspension was lifted in November 2025 and, in January 2026, TotalEnergies announced the full resumption of onshore and offshore activities following a meeting between Pouyanné and President Daniel Chapo in Afungi, Cabo Delgado.
The resumption did not resolve the disagreements over additional costs and contractual conditions associated with the force majeure period.
According to the sources interviewed by AIM, the legislative review also sought to incorporate lessons from the experience of other African countries, drawing on comparative studies conducted during the preparation of the law.
Official data indicate that oil and gas operations in Mozambique have resulted in the drilling of 186 exploration wells, 74 production wells and nine development wells.
In terms of production and sales, the country recorded sales of 12.21 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG), equivalent to 172 cargoes, as well as sales of 3.4349 million gigajoules of natural gas.
Law No. 8/2026 of 3 June repeals the previous Law No. 21/2014 of 18 August and Law No. 16/2022 of 19 December, establishing the new legal framework for petroleum operations in Mozambique.
Source: AIM Moçambique