bp advances GTA LNG Phase 1 commissioning as it completes first cargo load

bp plc has loaded the first cargo of LNG for export from the first phase of its Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) LNG project offshore Mauritania and Senegal. 

For this stage of commissioning, flow of first gas from the project to the floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO)—which lies about 40 km offshore and removes water, condensate, and impurities before transfer to the FLNG vessel—occurred in January this year (OGJ Online, Jan. 2, 2025; June 4, 2024). 

The first LNG shipment was transferred to a carrier from the project’s floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessel, which lies 10 km offshore, where the natural gas had been cryogenically cooled, liquefied, and stored, the company said in a release Apr. 17.

GTA is one of the deepest offshore developments in Africa, with gas resources about 120 km offshore in water depths of up to 2,850 m on the maritime border between Mauritania and Senegal. The project has been declared one of “strategic national importance” by the governments of Mauritania and Senegal. 

Once fully commissioned, GTA Phase 1 is expected to produce about 2.4 million tonnes/year of LNG to feed into the global energy market. An allocation of gas volumes will be made available to the domestic markets in both countries when they are ready to receive it, bp said.

The first LNG cargo at GTA is the third upstream major project start-up of the year for bp. The operator expects a total of 10 project startups by end-2027, in line with bp’s strategy of growing its upstream oil and gas business.

bp operates GTA (56%). Partners are Kosmos Energy (27%), Petrosen (10%), and SMH (7%).