The floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessel that is a core component of the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) LNG project has arrived at its destination on the Mauritania and Senegal maritime border.

The FLNG vessel, Gimi, is at the heart of the GTA Phase 1 development, operated by bp with partners, Kosmos Energy, PETROSEN and SMH.

GTA Phase 1 is set to produce around 2.3 million tonnes of LNG per year. The innovative project is expected to produce LNG for more than 20 years, enabling Mauritania and Senegal to become a global LNG hub.

Emil Ismayilov, bp’s senior vice president, Mauritania and Senegal said: “The successful and safe arrival of the FLNG vessel is another step forward for GTA Phase 1 and is testament to our team and partners’ commitment to safely delivering this project. The people behind the project have delivered through many challenges, including the pandemic, to orchestrate a major feat of engineering. We are fully focused on safely completing the project and beginning a new energy chapter in Mauritania and Senegal.”

The GTA Phase 1 project will produce gas from reservoirs in deep water, approximately 120km offshore, through a subsea system to a floating production and storage offloading (FPSO) vessel, which will initially process the gas, removing heavier hydrocarbon components.

The gas will then be transported by pipeline to the FLNG vessel at the GTA Hub where it will be cryogenically cooled in the vessel’s four liquefaction trains and stored before transfer to LNG carriers. Gimi can store up to 125,000m³ LNG.

Owned and operated by Golar LNG, the Gimi FLNG vessel set sail from Singapore in November 2023, travelling 9000 nautical miles to site. More than 36 million hours were spent on its construction.

With wells located in water depths of up to 2850m, the GTA Phase 1 development has deepest subsea infrastructure in Africa. The multibillion-dollar investment has been granted the status of National Project of Strategic Importance by the Presidents of both Mauritania and Senegal.