The field contains about 80 trillion cubic feet of gas, the Ministry of Petroleum, Mines and Energy said. This is more than the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) field, which is under development.
Oil Minister Abdessalam Ould Mohamed Saleh today signed the agreement with BP's vice president for Mauritania and Senegal, Emil Ismayilov, and Kosmos' regional director, Todd Niebruegge.
"BirAllah is an important growth opportunity for bp in Mauritania and we are delighted to continue working with our partners on its future development potential.
Emil Ismayilov, Regional Director of Kosmos
The agreement will run for 30 months, according to the statement. This should give the companies and the state enough time to come up with a business plan. The previous exploration phase of Block C8, which holds BirAllah, expired in June 2022.
It plans to carry out engineering studies during this period and is targeting a final investment decision (FID) in the first half of 2025. BP and Kosmos have previously stated that BirAllah could be a separate LNG hub, with a capacity of around 10 million tonnes per year.
BirAllah is about 60km north of the GTA development and about 100km offshore. The statement said Mauritania would hold a 29% stake as part of its drive to obtain the maximum benefit.
Beyond the new BirAllah production sharing contract, bp's working interest in offshore Block C-8 (exploitation licence) is 59.2%, with Kosmos Energy holding 26.8% and Société Mauritanienne des Hydrocarbures (SMH) holding 14%.
The ministry went on to say that it intended to maximise local content in the development of BirAllah, particularly around the port of Ndiago. The plan would involve onshore processing and export facilities at Ndiago.
The development of BirAllah would transform the Mauritanian economy, the ministry said, and confirm the country's position as a gas producer. The gas field would also provide opportunities for the petrochemical and steel processing industries.
Kosmos, in August, said that the participants had agreed the main terms and conditions of the contract. The company also noted the possibility that a development plan for BirAllah could also include the Orca discovery.
Kosmos drilled the initial discovery well on BirAllah in November 2015. It then drilled the Orca-1 in Q4 2019, also finding pay. The company completed appraisal and design studies on both discoveries in 2021.