Supermajor BP has loaded the first LNG shipment from the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) Phase 1 project offshore Mauritania and Senegal. The first shipment of LNG was transferred to carrier British Sponsor from the project’s floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessel Gimi located 10 km offshore.
The cargo was fully loaded at approximately 174,000 m3 of LNG. A second LNG carrier is currently waiting near the hub terminal in preparation for the second cargo lifting.
“This first cargo from Mauritania and Senegal marks a significant new supply for global energy markets,” said Gordon Birrell, executive vice president for production and operations at BP. “Starting exports from GTA Phase 1 is an important step for BP and our oil and gas business as we celebrate the creation of a new production hub within our global portfolio.”
GTA is one of the deepest offshore developments in Africa, with gas resources in water depths of up to 2850 m and has been declared “a project of strategic national importance” by the governments of Mauritania and Senegal.
Subsea wells produce the gas through large-bore wells designed to produce up to 200 MMcf/D of gas. Production, which came on-stream in January, is moved via an 80-km tieback to the FPSO. The GTA FPSO—approximately 40 km offshore and designed to produce around 500 MMcf/D of gas—removes water, condensate, and impurities before gas is transferred to Gimi to be cryogenically cooled, liquefied, and stored prior to transfer to LNG carriers.
Once fully commissioned, GTA Phase 1 is expected to produce around 2.4 mtpa of LNG to feed into global energy needs, with an allocation of gas volumes also to be made available to the domestic markets in both countries when they are ready to receive it.
This first cargo of LNG at GTA is BP's third upstream major project startup of the year after Raven Infills in Egypt and Cypre in Trinidad. These are the first of 10 expected by the end of 2027, in line with BP’s strategy of growing its upstream oil and gas business.
BP entered Mauritania and Senegal in 2017. The Tortue discovery was made in 2015 by Kosmos. Both operators estimate the field could contain around 15 Tcf of natural gas resource.
BP operates GTA with a 56% working interest. Partners include Kosmos Energy (27%), PETROSEN (10%), and SMH (7%).
