MSGBC Basin Moves to Standardised Engineering and Integrated Contracting for Next Deepwater Phase

As the MSGBC basin moves into its next phase of deepwater development, the ability to deliver projects efficiently, safely and competitively will be critical

DAKAR, Senegal, July 7, 2026/APO Group/ --

The engineering and contracting models that delivered GTA and Sangomar are being measured against the basin's next projects, where cost and schedule discipline will decide which developments advance.

The MSGBC basin is adopting the standardized engineering, phased development and integrated contracting that operators worldwide use to keep high-cost offshore projects financeable. With Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) and Sangomar now in production, the basin's next wave of projects hinge on their ability to apply those models quickly and competitively.

These questions anchor the technical presentation “Deepwater Engineering & Offshore Project Delivery in the MSGBC Basin” at this year's MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026 conference and exhibition. The session aims to examine how subsea production systems, the deployment of FPSO and FLNG units, offshore drilling, marine logistics and contracting models combine to turn a discovery into bankable production.

In offshore infrastructure, concept selection follows the resource. The economics of each vessel choice are visible in the basin’s two producing assets. Sangomar relies on a standalone FPSO, a converted very large crude carrier supplied by MODEC and moored roughly 100 km offshore, with a first-phase cost of around $5 billion.

GTA processes gas on an FPSO before piping it to the Gimi FLNG vessel operated by Golar LNG under a 20-year contract, with a nameplate capacity of approximately 2.7 million tons per year. Oil developments reward the storage and offloading flexibility of an FPSO, while large-scale gas justifies the cost of dedicated liquefaction close to shore.

The subsea systems linking wells to their host facilities represent a significant portion of a deepwater project's engineering risk and cost. Sangomar ties its wells to the FPSO through 101 km of rigid flowlines, with a 24-well drilling program completed by deepwater drillships during ramp-up, while GTA connects its ultra-deepwater wells across roughly 100 km to processing infrastructure. Phasing is the principal lever for containing that exposure, allowing operators to bring on early production before committing capital to later stages. Woodside is now assessing a Sangomar Phase 2 of around 33 additional wells tied back to the existing FPSO, an approach that reuses the host facility rather than financing a new one.

At Sangomar, the subsea production systems ­– umbilicals, risers and flowlines – were delivered by the Subsea Integration Alliance under a single engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract. This approach consolidated technical scopes that are traditionally tendered separately.

“As the MSGBC basin moves into its next phase of deepwater development, the ability to deliver projects efficiently, safely and competitively will be critical to unlocking new investment and production. Leveraging the MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power platform, we aim to showcase the technologies, partnerships and delivery strategies that are helping transform discoveries into commercially viable production,” says Sandra Jeque, Vice President, Energy Capital & Power.

Gas developments lean on long-term LNG sales agreements and domestic supply commitments to underpin financing, while oil developments rely on the phased reuse of existing infrastructure to protect returns. As such, the “Deepwater Engineering & Offshore Project Delivery in the MSGBC Basin” presentation at MSGBC Oil, Gas & Power 2026 will examine how these engineering, logistics and contracting decisions connect, and how operators can carry the delivery performance achieved in the region into its next investment cycle.