The company is one of several partners, including France's Total Energies, involved in building a $20-billion liquefied natural gas located off the coast of Cabo Delgado province, a region wracked by a four-year Islamist insurgency.

In March, militants launched their most audacious attack to date on the gas hub and coastal town of Palma, killing dozens including foreign workers, forcing gas firms to evacuate. In the past few months, more than 3,100 African, European and US soldiers have been deployed to Cabo Delgado province to quell the unrest. At least 3,340 people have been killed and more than 800,000 other displaced there since 2017. Commenting on efforts to secure the area, Mallom said, "I think good progress is being made on the overall situation but more remains to be done".

 He said plans were in place to improve the situation and that ExxonMobil was engaging with its partners and the government, and that it continues to monitor the situation closely. He acknowledged the project remains "in a paralysis situation".

The energy companies had hoped to bring the LNG project online by 2024.