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In February, the 2.5 mtpa FLNG, which was converted from a 1975-built Moss LNG carrier with a storage capacity of 125,000 cbm, arrived at the GTA hub.
After that, the project’s floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit also arrived at the GTA project off the coasts of Mauritania and Senegal in May.
Texas-based Kosmos said in its third-quarter results report on Monday that “cool down and commissioning of the FLNG vessel has commenced with first LNG expected around the end of the fourth quarter of 2024.”
Kosmos previously said that first LNG is expected in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The company said in the update that the FPSO is “ready for startup shortly with first gas expected thereafter.”
Kosmos also said that drilling of the first batch of four wells had been completed with expected production capacity “significantly higher” than is required for first gas.
In addition, the firm noted that the subsea workscope for first gas is mechanically complete.
“Good progress”
BP CEO Murray Auchincloss recently said the company is making “good progress” with the commissioning of its delayed FLNG project, but he did not provide a timeline for the start-up.
He confirmed that the FLNG received a pre-commissioning cargo to accelerate the cooldown of the unit.
Auchincloss said at the end of July that BP expects to achieve first gas from the project over the next three or four months.
BP operates the first GTA phase along with its partners Kosmos, PETROSEN, and SMH.
In 2020, the partners signed a sales and purchase agreement under which BP Gas Marketing will offtake 2.45 million tonnes per annum of LNG from the first phase of the GTA project for an initial term of up to 20 years.
BP’s unit is the sole offtaker of the project’s volumes.
It is worth mentioning here that BP recently won an arbitration against its partner Kosmos over a dispute related to the project’s LNG sales.
The final, binding award prohibits Kosmos from selling LNG cargoes to third-party buyers during the contract term of the LNG sales agreement.
Second phase
In February last year, the partners confirmed the development concept for the second phase of the GTA LNG project, which they will take forward to the next evaluation stage.
The partnership will evaluate a gravity-based structure (GBS) as the basis for the GTA Phase 2 expansion project (GTA2) with total capacity of between 2.5-3 million tonnes per annum.
GBS LNG developments have a static connection to the seabed with the structure providing LNG storage and a foundation for liquefication facilities.
The concept design will also include new wells and subsea equipment, integrating with and expanding on existing GTA infrastructure.