LONDON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Kosmos Energy ( KOS ) said on

Tuesday a Paris-based arbitrator has ruled in favour of BP

, prohibiting Kosmos from selling to third parties

liquefied natural gas from the Greater Tortue (GTA) project

offshore Senegal and Mauritania.

LNG is key to BP's strategy and broader energy transition

plan. The energy major has managed to establish a significant

LNG portfolio across the world including Sub-Saharan Africa,

which is set to become a significant source of LNG exports with

Nigeria, Angola, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea already shipping

large volumes.

Last year, Kosmos Energy ( KOS ), a U.S.-listed oil and gas

exploration company, and BP Gas Marketing, a BP subsidiary,

sought arbitration from the International Chamber of Commerce

over planned LNG sales from Phase 1 of the GTA project.

The chamber informed Kosmos Energy Ltd ( KOS ) that a final, binding

award prohibits it from selling LNG cargos to third parties

during the contract term of the LNG sales agreement, which has

an option to end in 2033, Kosmos said in a statement.

The final award does not change the terms of the LNG sales

agreement and is not expected to have an impact on Kosmos'

long-term expectations and financial situation, the statement

said.

BP, which holds a 56% stake in GTA, is the operator of the

project and its subsidiary is the sole buyer of its 2.5-million

metric ton per year volume under a 20-year contract.

In November 2023, BP said the project was 90% complete and

would start in the first quarter of 2024, slightly later than

originally planned.

On Tuesday, Kosmos CEO, Andrew Inglis told a BloombergNEF

conference in London that the GTA project should start up by the

end of the year. Kosmos has a 26.8% share in the project.

BP, Shell and other energy companies have also been

in a legal battle with Venture Global LNG, accusing the LNG

producer of denying it and other customers access to supplies

while exporting more than $18 billion worth of the superchilled

gas, according to a filing with U.S. regulators.