French oil giant TotalEnergies stated on Thursday that it was unaware of the alleged torture and killings of civilians that reportedly occurred in 2021 at the location of its future Mozambique LNG facility, in response to a media report. 

According to Politico, Mozambican government soldiers stationed at the still-unfinished site detained between 180 and 250 local men, confining them in shipping containers where many were tortured and killed from July to September 2021. 

The Mozambican defense ministry did not provide an immediate response to inquiries regarding the allegations mentioned in the Politico report, which referenced accounts from survivors and an unnamed gas plant employee. Politico noted that both the Mozambican defense ministry and presidency did not reply to requests for comments prior to the article's publication.

TotalEnergies, which holds a significant 26.5% stake in the project, issued a statement asserting, "Prior to being contacted by the author of this article, TotalEnergies had never received any information concerning the alleged events described."

The consortium partners include Japan's Mitsui (20%), Mozambique's state-owned ENH (15%), Thailand's PTTEP (8.5%), and Indian companies ONGC Videsh (16%), Bharat Petroleum (10%), and Oil India Ltd (4%).

A statement on behalf of the consortium, provided by TotalEnergies, emphasized, "Mozambique LNG has no knowledge of the alleged events ... and has never received any information indicating that such events took place."

TotalEnergies is spearheading the development of the $20 billion gas export project, aiming to position Mozambique as a significant LNG producer to compete with Australia, Qatar, Russia, and the United States. 

In March 2021, following nearby Islamist attacks, TotalEnergies declared force majeure and evacuated the site, known as Afungi. The project has remained on hold since that time.