British oil major BP seeks to delay first gas on its operated Greater Tortue Ahmeyin project by one year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Kallanish Energy reports.
Liquefied natural gas shipping company Golar LNG said earlier this week it received a force majeure notice from BP under its 20-year lease and operate agreement for the floating LNG facility Gimi. The original target connection date is 2022.
“BP estimates at this stage that the consequential delay caused by the claimed force majeure event is in the order of one year and that it is not currently possible to mitigate or shorten this delay,” Golar said in a statement.
Golar said it asked the supermajor to clarify how a force majeure event discovered as recently as the end of March could immediately impact the schedule by an estimated one year.
The Greater Tortue Ahmeyin project is a multi-phase LNG project with gas resources estimated at 15 trillion cubic feet. Under Phase 1, the FLNG facility Gimi will produce 2.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG on the Mauritania-Senegal maritime border. BP is the sole buyer for Phase 1’s LNG offtake.
BP operates the project in partnership with Kosmos Energy and state companies of Senegal and Mauritania – Petrosen and SMHPM, respectively.
Golar said it’s engaging in an active dialogue with BP to establish the duration of the delay and the extent to which this has been caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Anticipating a potential delay, the shipping company will start discussions with its main building contractor Keppel Shipyward to re-schedule activities to reduce its capital spending commitments for 2020 and 2021.
