Senegal - Mauritania: Italian and French experts assist Saipem on the GTA project

Rana Diving, an Italian specialist in subsea engineering, project management and diving operations, and Bourbon, a French shipowner and offshore service provider, played a key role in finalizing the subsea operations off the coasts of Mauritania and Senegal. These interventions are part of what is being billed as the largest project in the portfolio of British energy giant BP.

According to Rana Diving, its teams, in partnership with Bourbon, carried out 150 days of continuous saturation diving at depths ranging from 32 to 120 meters for Saipem and BP on the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, located off the coasts of Mauritania and Senegal.

The Italian company says it has contributed to the commissioning of this gas project by carrying out operations described as "critical", such as the installation of 30-inch spools and flowline termination assemblies. The GTA project is located some 40 kilometers from the coast, on the maritime border between Mauritania and Senegal.

"This project mobilized more than 100 members of our diving, engineering and HRF teams. Everyone's involvement, collaboration and resilience were key to successfully completing this complex project, while complying with industry norms and the highest safety standards," said Rana Diving.

The first phase of the GTA project, which houses Africa's largest subsea infrastructure with wells at depths of up to 2,850 meters, is expected to produce around 2.3 million tonnes of LNG annually over more than 20 years. First LNG delivery is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2024.

Golar LNG's Gimi FLNG arrived at the project site in January 2024, followed by the Tortue FPSO in June 2024. Gas will be extracted from an ultra-deepwater subsea system, then processed aboard the Tortue FPSO, which will remove heavier hydrocarbon components before transfer to the Gimi FLNG.

Most of the gas will be liquefied on board the FLNG for export to international markets, while a portion will be allocated to meet growing demand in host countries. Vessels belonging to Allseas have been mobilized to lay the subsea pipelines.

BP describes this gas project as its largest development to date, with estimated resources of around 15,000 billion cubic feet of gas, enough to guarantee continuous production for at least 20 years.