Senegal - Mauritania: Golar FLNG scheduled to arrive in Dakar this week for the GTA project

Golar LNG's converted LNG carrier, Gimi, is scheduled to arrive in Dakar this week, marking a crucial milestone in the first phase of BP's Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project offshore Mauritania and Senegal, marine data show. The Gimi, originally a Moss LNG carrier built in 1975, has been converted into an FLNG with a storage capacity of 125,000 m3 at Seatrium's shipyard in Singapore. Departure took place on November 19.

The voyage, estimated by Golar to take around 60 days, includes refuelling stops in Mauritius, a passage around the Cape of Good Hope and a stop in Namibia. The 293-meter-long, propulsion-powered FLNG is escorted by the 88.9-meter-long tug ALP Defender. On Monday, Gimi and ALP Defender were off the coast of Guinea, with an expected arrival in Dakar on January 10, according to AIS data.

Upon arrival, Gimi will inform BP that it is ready to dock and connect to the GTA hub, thus initiating the contractual cash flows of the 20-year lease and operating agreement for the GTA field, as previously stated by Golar. In February 2019, Golar signed a charter agreement with BP for the FLNG. Gimi, the world's second converted floating LNG producer, joins Golar's Hilli, also converted by Seatrium and currently offshore Kribi, Cameroon.

Gimi is designed to produce up to 2.7 million tonnes of LNG per year using Black & Veatch's "Prico" liquefaction process. The project has been delayed due to subsea work. Once the FLNG and FPSO have arrived at the GTA platform, BP will begin upstream commissioning and gas supply to the FLNG. Golar anticipates a commissioning period of around six months from project start-up, followed by commercial operation. Commercial launch of the project is scheduled for the second or third quarter of 2024.

Golar and GTA partners are exploring ways to accelerate the commissioning period in order to reach COD sooner. BP's acting CEO Murray Auchincloss expressed optimism during BP's third-quarter earnings conference call regarding the launch of the first phase of the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim FLNG project in the first quarter of 2024. However, the project's start-up has been delayed due to a subsea reach issue. Kosmos, a partner in the project, mentioned in its third-quarter report that the first gas delivery could take place in the second quarter of 2024.

In October, BP chose Swiss company Allseas to carry out the remainder of the subsea pipeline installation, replacing Houston-based McDermott. In December, Allseas began laying offshore pipelines in the Greater Toronto Area using what it claims is the world's largest construction vessel, the Pioneering Spirit. Allseas' offshore construction support vessel, Oceanic, provides installation assistance.

Pioneering Spirit will complete the pipeline project, covering around 75 km on the two export and four domestic CRA pipelines, as well as multiple structures, as stated by Allseas.

As for the project's FPSO unit, it left Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry's yard in Qidong, China, in January last year. Kosmos had indicated that the FPSO should arrive on site in the first quarter of 2024. AIS data showed it off Dakhla on Monday, heading north towards Mauritania.

Upon arrival and completion of commissioning activities offshore Mauritania and Senegal, the FPSO will process the natural gas - removing condensates, water and other impurities - before exporting it by pipeline to the project's FLNG facilities, 10 km offshore. Equipped with eight processing and production modules, the FPSO will process around 500 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.

The FLNG will liquefy most of the gas for export to international markets, while some of it will meet growing demand in the two host countries, as BP has already indicated.