BP has safely loaded the first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the offshore Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) LNG project on the maritime border between Mauritania and Senegal.

In a statement on April 17, BP said that the export of this cargo would confirm Mauritania and Senegal as LNG-exporting countries.

The first cargo of about 174,000 cubic metres of LNG from the GTA LNG Phase 1 was transferred to an LNG carrier from the project’s floating LNG (FLNG) vessel located 10 kilometres offshore.

Gas from GTA Phase 1 began flowing from wells to the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit on December 31, 2024, as part of the commissioning process. After processing at the FPSO to remove impurities, water and condensate, the gas was transferred to the FLNG to be cryogenically cooled, liquefied and stored, with the first LNG production announced in February, as reported by NewsBase at the time.

The Gimi FLNG with a nameplate capacity of 2.7mn tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG, owned and operated by Golar LNG, is leased to the GTA project as part of its midstream infrastructure.

According to BP, once fully commissioned, GTA Phase 1 will produce around 2.4 tpy of LNG for export, with volumes also allocated to domestic markets in both countries when they are ready to receive it.

“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,” said Gordon Birrell, executive vice president (EVP) for production and operations at BP.

“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.”

The GTA LNG project is one of the deepest offshore developments in Africa which extracts gas from reservoirs situated approximately 120 km offshore, at a depth of 2,850 metres. With reserves of approximately 15 trillion cubic feet (425 bcm) of gas, it has been declared “a project of strategic national importance” by the governments of Mauritania and Senegal.

“This is a very proud day for Mauritania and Senegal. Throughout the development of this project, we have built strong relationships with the project’s host governments, local communities and our partners, and we look forward to strengthening these in years to come as we continue ongoing operations,” said Dave Campbell, BP’s senior vice president (SVP) Mauritania and Senegal.

Partners in the GTA LNG project for the upstream development include BP (operator with 56% shareholding), US upstream company Kosmos Energy (27%), Senegalese national oil company (NOC) Petrosen with 9% interest, and Mauritanian NOC Société Mauritanienne des Hydrocarbures (SMH) with 8%.

The midstream infrastructure, including the FLNG facility, is owned separately through a joint venture (JV) partnership that includes BP (60%) and Kosmos (30%) as commercial investors, and Petrosen and SMH holding a combined 10% interest.

“The first LNG cargo is a significant milestone, enabling Mauritania and Senegal to become gas exporting nations from this project of national strategic importance,” Andrew G. Inglis, Kosmos Energy’s chairman and CEO said in a statement. “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.”