The Greater Tortue Ahmeyim Phase I LNG development received its crucial FPSO unit, BP announced. The FPSO is designed to provide cleaned feedgas to the project’s FLNG unit, which will add around 2.3mtpa in LNG production to West African supply. Regional LNG flows have been on a declining trend since mid-2020, according to our data.
The floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, a crucial element of the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) Phase I LNG development, has arrived at its destination offshore on the maritime border between Mauritania and Senegal, according to a statement by BP.
Ultra-deep development
Currently, the FPSO vessel is being moored at the site, located 40km offshore in 120-metre-deep water. It will be operated by BP on behalf of the project’s other partners: Kosmos Energy, PETROSEN and SMH. The project aims to extract gas from reservoirs situated in ultra-deep water approximately 120km offshore, utilising a subsea system.
With wells located in water depths of up to 2,850 metres, the GTA Phase I development features the deepest subsea infrastructure in Africa, BP detailed. This multibillion-dollar investment has been designated a National Project of Strategic Importance by the Presidents of both Mauritania and Senegal.
Following its construction at the COSCO Qidong Shipyard in China, the FPSO travelled over 12,000 nautical miles to reach the GTA site.
Significant milestone
‘BP is investing in today’s energy system - and tomorrow’s too, and GTA Phase I represents this investment in action,’ said Dave Campbell, BP’s senior vice president for Mauritania and Senegal.
‘This marks a significant milestone for the project, an innovative LNG development that is at the forefront of unlocking gas resources for Mauritania and Senegal. The FPSO vessel has journeyed halfway around the world, and its safe arrival and installation are a testament to the resilience, skills, teamwork, and immense effort of all partners involved. Our focus now is on the safe completion of the project as we work towards achieving first gas,’ added Dave Campbell.
Prodution
The FPSO is expected to process over 500 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. It will remove water, condensate, and impurities from the gas before transferring it via pipeline to the FLNG vessel at the Hub Terminal approximately 10km offshore. At the FLNG vessel, the gas will be cryogenically cooled, liquefied, and stored before being transferred to LNG carriers for export, with a portion allocated to meet the growing demand in the host countries.
The GTA Phase I development is anticipated to produce around 2.3 million tonnes of LNG annually for over 20 years. It is the first gas development in this new basin offshore Mauritania and Senegal.
Declining trend
Notably, GTA Phase I will contribute a significant amount of LNG production to West African output, which has been on a declining trend since mid-2020, mainly due to weaker Nigerian output. West African LNG exports were down by 0.28mmt (-15pct) year-on-year in May. Earlier, in 2023, they had dropped by 0.70mmt (-3pct) to 21.51mmt from 22.21 in 2022.
