The first cargo of LNG has been loaded from the bp-operated Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) gas-condensate development offshore Mauritania and Senegal.

Gas production started at the end of last year.

This initial LNG shipment of 174,000 cu m was transferred to the British Sponsor carrier vessel from the GTA’s FLNG Gimi, positioned 10 km offshore. A second LNG carrier is already at the hub terminal in preparation for the second cargo lifting.

Phase 1 of the GTA development, in water depths of up to 2,850 m, should deliver about 2.4 MM metric tons/year for export to global markets, with some gas volumes also to be allocated to Mauritania and Senegal once their reception infrastructure is in place.

Andrew Inglis, CEO of bp’s partner Kosmos Energy, said, “We continue to work with bp, SMH and PETROSEN to safely ramp up the project to its full capacity as well as deliver expansion that leverages the infrastructure put in place for this initial phase."