Each thump of turbulence rattles the little United Nations plane as it cuts through the clouds. I pick nervously at a cuticle and distract myself by staring out of the window, watching as the verdant islands sprinkled in the Indian Ocean far below give way to a tangle of abandoned construction equipment.

Our destination is the seaside town of Palma – on the northernmost tip on Mozambique – where a major gas venture called the Mozambique Liquified Natural Gas Project (LNG) is underway. Its development is unfolding against a backdrop of conflict. In 2021, the town was seized by insurgents linked to Islamic State, who killed more than 1,000 people in the process. The project was then suspended as foreign troops were sent in to wrestle back control. Eager to resume work, the French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies, which is leading development, now claims that the security situation has improved.