Swiss-based offshore contractor Allseas has been awarded a contract by oil major BP for subsea pipelay work at the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) natural gas project offshore Mauritania and Senegal.

Under the contract, Allseas will be responsible for the installation of about 75km outstanding on the two 16-inch export pipelines with field termination assemblies (FTAs) in water depths ranging between 1,500 and 2,800 metres (m).

The company will also install four 10-inch corrosion resistant alloy (CRA) infield lines with FTAs up to 2km-long in 2,800m of water.

Allseas plans to use its Pioneering Spirit construction vessel for the contract work. The company plans to utilise its Oceanic vessel to support installation work.

Allseas CEO Pieter Heerema said: “This agreement demonstrates both our willingness and ability to take on highly complex and pipelay projects with fast-track planning and execution scopes.

“We are excited to work with bp on this project, this opportunity re-establishes the partnership between our two companies and creates a platform on which to grow and strengthen future collaboration between bp and Allseas.”

bp’s partners for the GTA project include Societe des Petroles du Senegal (Petrosen), Societe Mauritanienne des Hydrocarbures (SMH), and Kosmos Energy.

The bp-operated project will have a total capacity of up to three million tonnes of liquid natural gas per annum.

Spread across the C-8 block off the shore of Mauritania and the Saint-Louis Profond offshore block in Senegal, the field is estimated to hold up to 15 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas resources.