The FPSO for BP’s Greater Tortue Ahymeyim (GTA) LNG project has left China and is heading for its site off Mauritania and Senegal.
The vessel will travel via Singapore. It is due to complete its 12,000 nautical mile journey in the second quarter.
The FPSO is one of the “most important components” for the LNG project, Rahman Rahmanov, BP’s vice president projects for Mauritania & Senegal said.
“Achieving the successful sail away of the GTA Phase 1 FPSO is a testimony to the tremendous partnership with our contractors Cosco Shipping and Technip Energies. By working together as one team, we have been able to create a culture of resilience and focus on safe delivery.”
The FPSO will be moored around 40 km offshore on the maritime border. It will process gas and then export it via pipeline to a floating LNG (FLNG) facility, around 10 km offshore. It will strip out condensate, water and other impurities, processing around 500 million cubic feet per day.
The FPSO will have up to 120 people on board. It involves more than 81,000 tonnes of steel, 37,000 metres of pipe spool and 1.52 million cubic metres of cable.
© Supplied by Technip EnergiesTechnip Energies noted the role of local content in delivering construction of the vessel. Local engineers and technicians, it said, had trained throughout the development. They will play a part in the various commissioning activities, the company said.
Technip Energies COO Marco Villa said reaching this point demonstrated “our project execution excellence with the highest standards of safety and quality”. The next phases of the work, he said, will take place in Senegal and Mauritania.
BP awarded the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) work to Technip Energies in 2019. The company also carried out the front-end engineering and design (FEED) work.
Resilient hydrocarbons
BP vice president for production and operations Gordon Birrell said the sailaway was a fantastic milestone.
The project is “a great example of BP’s resilient hydrocarbon strategy in action. The team has delivered this in a challenging environment, including through COVID, always keeping safe operations at the heart of what they do.”
The first phase is principally focused on exports. However, it will send some gas onshore. BP is also working on a gas to power plan, at Yakaar Teranga. The company expressed interest in developing green hydrogen in Mauritania last year.
Kosmos Energy chairman and CEO Andy Inglis said the GTA LNG plan was 90% complete at the end of 2022. “We look forward to an active 2023 where we expect to achieve a number of important milestones for the project and the company.”
Updated at 9:46 am with Technip Energies comment.