The Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) Phase 1 project, a joint venture between bp and Kosmos Energy, has safely exported its first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the operation, located offshore Mauritania and Senegal.

The landmark event, which took place after the completion of first cargo loading activities on 17 April 2025, establishes Mauritania and Senegal as LNG-exporting nations.

The inaugural shipment of LNG was transferred to a carrier from the project's floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessel, located 10km offshore.

Here, the natural gas was cryogenically cooled, liquefied and stored.

The GTA Phase 1 project, once fully operational, is expected to yield approximately 2.4 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG to meet global energy demands.

Additionally, gas volumes will be allocated for domestic use in both Mauritania and Senegal once the necessary infrastructure is in place.

The GTA project began extracting gas from its offshore fields, which lie between Senegal and Mauritania, in January of this year.

The extraction process involves wells in deep waters, with depths of up to 2,850m.

The gas is then conveyed to a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO), vessel situated 40km away, for processing.

Following processing at the FPSO, where the gas is refined to remove condensate, water and impurities, it is piped to the floating LNG vessel.

The gas is then cooled, liquefied and stored before being loaded onto LNG carriers for export. Kosmos Energy initiated LNG production in February.

The first gas flow from the GTA project to the FPSO occurred on 31 December last year, signifying the start of the commissioning process.