Golar LNG’s floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) unit Gimi has reached the Commercial Operations Date (COD) for its 20-year lease and operate agreement for the BP-operated Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) project offshore Mauritania and Senegal.
The announcement of COD for Golar FLNG marks a significant milestone for the project partners, as LNG production volumes have successfully been ramped up to a level equivalent to the annual contracted volumes of approximately 2.4 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), or around 90% of nameplate capacity of 2.7 mtpa.
The achievement of COD follows first LNG in February and the first LNG cargo in April. The second and third LNG cargo were exported in May and early June respectively and a fourth cargo is currently loading.
The fifth cargo is expected at the start of the third quarter. With this expected cargo timing, Kosmos forecasts 3.5 gross cargos in the second quarter.
BP is operator of GTA with a 56% working interest, alongside Kosmos Energy (27%), Petrosen (10%) and SMH (7%).
The COD, confirmed by Golar LNG and Kosmos Energy, triggers the start of the 20-year lease and operate agreement that unlocks the equivalent of around $3 billion of Adjusted EBITDA backlog of Golar's share.
“We look forward to continuing working together with the GTA operator BP and its partners Kosmos, PETROSEN and SMH as well as Mauritanian and Senegalese authorities to deliver safe and reliable operations and to create value to all stakeholders,” Golar LNG said.
The GTA FPSO, located approximately 40 kilometers offshore, arrived to Mauritania and Senegal, is designed to process over 500 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.
GTA is one of the deepest offshore developments in Africa, with gas resources in water depths of up to 2,850 meters.