BP achieved a milestone on its Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) liquefied natural gas project offshore Senegal and Mauritania when the construction of 21 concrete caissons that make up a breakwater was wrapped up this month. Located on the maritime boundary of the two countries, about 110 kilometres from the Senagalese city of St-Louis, this breakwater is vital because it will protect GTA's key infrastructure - a floating LNG vessel plus utilities and accommodation platforms - from Atlantic Ocean swells. France's Eiffage Genie Civil Marine constructed all the caissons at a purpose-built site in Dakar. The structures were towed to a deepwater holding site just off Senegal's Goree Island, from where they were transported about 150 kilometres north to the GTA location. For construction, more than 130,000 cubic metres of concrete were produced by two plants operated by Eiffage in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, while 30,000 tonnes of steel were also needed. Each caisson weighs more than 16,200 tonnes and is 55 metres long, 28 metres wide and 32 metres high.
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