UK supermajor BP has produced first LNG from its Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) project offshore Mauritania and Senegal, BP’s partner Kosmos Energy announced on February 10.

BP has scheduled an LNG tanker to arrive later this quarter and deliver the project’s first cargo.

Gas from the first phase of GTA began flowing to the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel on December 31 as part of the project’s commissioning phase.

“First LNG is another major milestone for Kosmos, the GTA partnership and the governments of Mauritania and Senegal. We are looking forward to the accelerated ramp-up of LNG production and the first LNG cargo lifting during the first quarter,” Kosmos Energy’s chairman and chief executive officer Andrew Inglis said in a statement.

For operator BP and partners Kosmos, Senegal’s national oil company Petrosen and Mauritania’s state-run SMH, first LNG production marks a key step milestone at one of the most complex deepwater gas developments offshore Africa.

The project requires gas to be extracted from wells at depths of as much as 2,850m before it is directed to the FPSO located about 40 km offshore. The processed gas is then transported via pipeline to a floating LNG (FLNG) vessel located 10 km offshore.

Phase 1 of GTA is expected to produce about 2.3mn tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG with a lifespan of over 20 years. BP forecasts that the project, which has been designated as a “project of strategic national importance” by both Mauritania and Senegal, will elevate the two African countries into the status of becoming a key global hub for LNG.

The gas discovery offshore the two west African countries was made in 2015, with a successful final investment decision (FID) taken in 2018.

BP holds a majority stake of 56% in the GTA project, while US upstream oil company Kosmos holds a 27% stake. SMH possesses a 10% interest, while Petrosen holds the remaining 7% stake.