Kosmos Energy has said that it has, with its partners in the offshore Senegal/Mauritania Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project, signed a deal to sell 2.45 million tonnes per annum of LNG to BP's subsidiary BP Gas Marketing.

The sales and purchase agreement is valid for an initial term of up to 20 years.

Partners in the cross-border Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project, located offshore Mauritania and Senegal, include SMHPM, Petrosen, BP, and Kosmos.

Following the signing of the SPA, Kosmos plans to book net proved reserves of approximately 100 million barrels of oil equivalent associated with Phase 1, as evaluated by the company's independent reserve auditor Ryder Scott Company, LP. 

The company expects to book additional reserves when further phases of the Tortue project are sanctioned and sale and purchase agreements signed for the offtake volumes, Kosmos said Wednesday.

The cross-border offshore gas development is one of Africa's deepest offshore project at 2,000 meters below the sea's surface. It will produce gas from an ultra-deepwater subsea system and mid-water floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which will process the gas, removing heavier hydrocarbon components.

Gas will be transferred to a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility at a nearshore hub located on the Mauritania and Senegal maritime border. The FLNG facility is designed to provide circa 2.5 million metric tons of LNG per annum on average. Total gas resources in the field are estimated to be around 15 trillion cubic feet.

Commenting on the gas sales deal, Todd Niebruegge, Senior Vice President and Head of the Mauritania-Senegal business unit at Kosmos Energy said: "The signing of the SPA is an important milestone in the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project for the Governments of Mauritania and Senegal, SMHPM, Petrosen, BP and Kosmos. With the signing of this agreement, we have materially increased the proved reserve base of the company and the project remains on track to deliver first gas in the first half of 2022."

"The SPA is another positive step forward for the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project," said Norman Christie, BP's Regional President for Mauritania and Senegal. "We're grateful to the Governments of Mauritania and Senegal for their continued commitment to this innovative project, as well as our partners SMHPM, Petrosen and Kosmos."

Kosmos Energy discovered the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim field in 2015, and BP signed onto the project through an agreement with Kosmos in 2016.

BP is the project operator. The partners sanctioned the first phase of the project development in December 2018.