With the reported departure of the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel from China, the MSGBC’s first hydrocarbon production, strongly believed would open new opportunities for greater and broader economic growth, is officially close to being accomplished.
Project partners bp and Technip Energy recently announced that the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel has officially left China, on its way to the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) development, lying within the maritime border of Senegal and Mauritania.
Coming at a very critical time when energy security and the need for industrialization globally are in the front burner of all discussions, MSGBC region’s first hydrocarbon production serves as an ambitious economic development driver capable of attracting investments and new opportunities for widespread growth and industrialization. For about three years of construction and successful sea trials before sailing on January 20 2023, the facility – comprising eight processing and production modules, and set to accommodate 140 people onboard while processing gas for the GTA’s associated Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility, has a measurement of 270m in length, 54m in width and 31.5m in depth.
Said to be representing a critical part of the wider GTA development, the FPSO vessel will enable the processing of up to 500 million standard cubic feet of gas, as well as the production of 2.3 million tons of LNG per annum (mtpa) as part of the GTA’s first phase of development, with expectation of a twofold production increase of up to 10 mtpa during the second phase.
Speaking on the achievement, Gordon Birrell, Executive Vice President of Production and Operations of bp said: “This is a fantastic milestone for this important project, which 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. With the continued support of our partners, Societé Mauritanienne des Hydrocarbures (SMHPM) in Mauritania, Petrosen in Senegal and Kosmos Energy, we remain committed to helping both countries to develop their world-class resources in a sustainable way.”
The project is jointly developed by the operator bp, Kosmos Energy; Mauritania’s Ministry of Petroleum, Energy and Mines; Senegal’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energies; as well as Mauritania’s National Oil Company (NOC) SMHPM and Senegal’s NOC Petrosen, with Technip Energies, having been awarded the Engineering, Procurement, Construction, Installation and Commissioning contract. First production is expected by Q3 this year.
Senegal’s pioneer oil development, the 100,000 barrel per day Sangomar Project, is also set to see first production late 2023, to further solidify the commitment of both the energy majors and their local partners.
It is believed that the success of both GTA and Sangomar will create a ripple effect of project takeoffs across the region, as project developers are hoping to mirror the success of these pioneering projects. GTA’s neighboring development, the 13 tcf Mauritania -based BirAllah project – said to be representing the largest deepwater gas discovery of 2019 – has long been slated as a follow up to the GTA project itself, as interest is expected to turn to BirAllah, with project developers looking towards a final investment decision (FID). Similarly, the bp-Kosmos partnership, report showed, has slated this year for the securing of the FID of Senegal’s 20 tcf Yakaar-Teranga project, a promising new development located in the Cayer Profond Block to the south of the GTA.
