UK-based energy giant and LNG player BP, said that with its partners it has reached a final investment decision for Phase 1 of the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim LNG project off Mauritania and Senegal.
The decision was made following an agreement between the Mauritanian and Senegalese governments and partners BP, Kosmos Energy and National Oil Companies Petrosen and SMHPM, BP said in a statement.
Bernard Looney , BP’s upstream chief executive, said the FID represents the beginning of a multi-phase LNG project.
The Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project will produce gas from an ultra-deepwater subsea system and mid-water floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which will process the gas, removing heavier hydrocarbon components. The gas will then be transferred to a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility at a nearshore hub located on the Mauritania and Senegal maritime border.
The FLNG facility is designed to provide circa 2.5 million tonnes of LNG per annum on average, with the total gas resources in the field estimated to be around 15 trillion cubic feet. The project is planned to provide LNG for global export as well as making gas available for domestic use in both Mauritania and Senegal.
The parties will continue to finalize agreements and obtain final regulatory and contract approvals, following which Phase 1 of the development will move into a detailed design and construction phase, with the award of the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contracts.
Project execution activities are expected to commence in the first quarter of 2019, with first gas expected in 2022.
BP Gas Marketing has been selected as the sole buyer for the investor partners’ LNG offtake for Tortue Phase 1, the statement reads.