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BP, Kosmos expect GTA gas and LNG project to begin production on schedule
PROJECTS
BP and Kosmos Energy (US) are reportedly set to launch natural gas and LNG production at the Greater Tortue/Ahmeyim (GTA) block offshore Senegal and Mauritania on schedule in the sec- ond half of next year, despite delays in the con- struction of its floating production, storage and off-loading (FPSO) vessel.
BP and Eni struck a deal on combining their Angolan assets in May 2021. The two companies are also mulling the possibility of making simi- lar arrangements in Algeria, and in March of this year, they were reported to be close to reaching an agreement. Kosmos, a non-operating partner in the project, reported on August 8 that Phase 1 operations at GTA were “[continuing] to make good progress” and that preparations for the start of production were more than 80% complete as of the end of June. In a statement on its perfor- mance in the second quarter of 2022, it reported that it had successfully drilled two of the four wells needed to begin extracting gas from the block and had already spudded the third.
The company also noted that work on marine infrastructure was moving forward, as subsea equipment was beginning to arrive in the region and installation of an export pipeline was under- way. Meanwhile, all 21 of the caissons needed for the offshore gas hub have been installed, while the process of installing the pilings is nearly com- plete and the living quarters module is en route to the site of the hub. At the same time, construc- tion and mechanical completion operations are being carried out on the floating LNG (FLNG) plant that will be installed at the gas hub, and commissioning activities have started.
As for the FPSO, Kosmos said, “mechanical completion loop checks continue and commis- sioning work has commenced.” Despite this progress, however, the Chinese shipyard where the vessel is being built has not been able to overcome the delays resulting from a lockdown imposed in April in response to a coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. As a result, the FPSO will not be finished by the end of the third quar- ter of 2022 as projected, but rather in the fourth quarter.
Even so, the postponement is not expected to change the date of first gas, the statement said. Gas extraction is still set to begin in the third quarter of 2023, with LNG production follow- ing in the fourth quarter of the same year, it explained.
According to other sources, the FPSO is being constructed at the Qidong shipyard, which is owned by China Ocean Shipping Co. (COSCO). The shipyard is building the vessel under con- tract with Technip Energies (France), which won an extensive engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) contract from BP for the GTA project in 2019.
Kosmos further stated that it was working with BP to optimise the value of GTA’s resources in light of current conditions on global gas mar- kets. With respect to Phase 1 production, it said, the partners will utilise their existing contractual rights so that they can divert cargoes to prospec- tive buyers in order to maximise their returns. And with respect to Phase 2 of the project, it noted, BP and Kosmos are working closely with the governments of Senegal and Mauritania to determine the best way to build on Phase 1 infrastructure for further development. The shareholders in the project aim to make a final investment decision (FID) on Phase 2 by the end of the third quarter, it added.
GTA, which straddles the maritime border between Senegal and Mauritania, holds around 15 trillion cubic feet (425bn cubic metres) of gas; enough to support an export-oriented LNG project as well as pipeline deliveries to Senegal’s domestic market. Kosmos Energy discovered gas at the block in 2015 and then teamed up with BP for the project in 2016. The two companies made an FID on Phase 1 of the project in late 2018.
To support LNG production, they have con- tracted Bermuda-registered Golar LNG to con- vert the Gimi LNG tanker into an FLNG vessel with a Phase 1 production capacity of 2.5mn tonnes per year (tpy). In Phase 2, GTA would see LNG production capacity doubled to 5mn tpy.
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