Inaugural cargo lifted from FLNG at BP’s African deepwater project

The UK-headquartered oil and gas giant BP has loaded the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo from its project offshore Mauritania and Senegal from a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessel onto an LNG tanker.

According to Kosmos Energy, BP’s partner in the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) Phase 1 project, the first cargo containing approximately 174,000 cubic meters of LNG was transferred to the LNG carrier British Sponsor. A second LNG carrier is said to be waiting near the hub terminal in preparation for the second cargo lifting.

Kosmos Energy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Andrew G. Inglis, said: “The first LNG cargo is a significant milestone, enabling Mauritania and Senegal to become gas exporting nations from this project of national strategic importance. We continue to work with bp, SMH and PETROSEN to safely ramp up the project to its full capacity as well as deliver expansion that leverages the infrastructure put in place for this initial phase.”

The cargo was transferred from Golar LNG’s floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessel Gimi, located approximately 10 kilometers offshore, where the natural gas had been cryogenically cooled, liquefied, and stored.

Last month, Golar LNG inked finance lease agreements with a consortium of Chinese leasing companies for the refinancing of the existing debt facility for the vessel, which has a nameplate capacity of 2.7 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

According to Golar LNG, commissioning remains on track for a Q2 2025 commercial operations date, which will trigger the start of the 20-year lease and operate agreement that unlocks the equivalent of around $3 billion of adjusted EBITDA backlog for the company.

The first LNG cargo lifting follows the first gas production milestone in late 2024 and the first LNG production in February. BP is the GTA project’s operator with a 56% interest, with Kosmos Energy (27%), Petrosen (10%), and Société Mauritanienne Des Hydrocarbures (SMH) (7%) as partners.

Gordon Birrell, BP’s Executive Vice President (EVP) of Production & Operations, noted: “This first cargo from Mauritania and Senegal marks a significant new supply for global energy markets. 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.

“This is the culmination of years of work from the entire project and operations teams – congratulations to all who were involved in safely reaching this landmark. I would also like to thank the governments of Mauritania and Senegal, and our partners – Kosmos Energy, PETROSEN and SMH – for their ongoing support and collaboration.”

A leak was spotted at one of the project’s wells in February, but the UK firm confirmed there is no residue on the surface of the sea following an inspection that was completed in March.

Declared “a project of strategic national importance” by the governments of Mauritania and Senegal, GTA is described as one of the deepest offshore developments in Africa, with gas resources in water depths of up to 2,850 meters.

Once fully commissioned, GTA Phase 1 is expected to produce around 2.4 mtpa of LNG to meet global energy needs. Project partners also intend to allocate gas volumes to the domestic markets in Mauritania and Senegal once the countries can receive it.

The first LNG cargo loading at GTA is said to be the third upstream major project start-up of the year for BP, following the delivery of first gas at Cypre, offshore Trinidad and Tobago, earlier this month, and the production from the second development phase of the Raven field, offshore Egypt, in February.

These form part of the ten projects BP hopes to bring online by the end of 2027, in line with its reset strategy to grow its upstream oil and gas business.