BP has completed the sale and leaseback of the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim floating, production, storage, and offloading vessel (FPSO), according to project partner Kosmos Energy.
Technip Energies is currently building the unit at COSCO Shipping’s Qidong yard in China. Once completed, it will serve BP’s Greater Tortue Ahmeyim FLNG development offshore Mauritania and Senegal.
The FPSO will process the gas, removing heavier hydrocarbon components, prior to delivering it to a floating LNG provider which will sit nearshore a hub.
Kosmos Energy said in a statement on Monday that BP, as the operator of the GTA project (BP Operator), with the consent of the project participants and the respective states, agreed to sell the FPSO to an affiliate of BP (BP Buyer).
BP Operator will lease back the unit under a long-term agreement, for exclusive use in the Greater Tortue project. Also, it will continue to manage and supervise the construction contract with Technip Energies.
Delivery of the FPSO to BP Buyer would occur after construction is complete and the FPSO has entered international waters, with the lease to BP Operator becoming effective on the same date, Dallas-based Kosmos said.
The partners expect this in late third quarter of 2022.
Additional funding for Kosmos
Kosmos said the transaction secures additional funding for the company’s future development costs on the Greater Tortue project.
The firm previously expected its capital expenditures associated with the project in 2021 to reach around $350 million.
However, with the completion of the FPSO deal, these expenditures would drop to about $190 million, with remaining cash calls on the project for 2021 covered through the proceeds of the sale.
In addition, the balance of the sale proceeds, as well as the additional savings from the transfer of remaining FPSO construction payments to BP Buyer, are expected to be largely realized in 2022.
Also, the company expects to refinance National Oil Company loans later this year, providing approximately $100 million in additional financing for the Greater Tortue project.
Besides operator BP and Kosmos, the project includes national oil companies Petrosen and SMHPM.
Construction work continues to progress
Kosmos also said key workstreams across the project continue to make “good progress” year-to-date.
This includes installing living quarters on the FPSO and integrating the four remaining sponsons on the FLNG in the final dry dock, Kosmos said.
Singapore’s Keppel shipyard is currently converting Golar’s Gimi FLNG for the project. BP and Golar agreed on a one-year delay for the unit last year due to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The yard should deliver the FLNG in 2023.
Once deployed offshore Mauritania and Senegal, it will provide about 2.5 million tonnes of LNG per annum on average.