Saipem awarded new offshore contracts worth approximately €700 million

 March 31, 2010; h 14:50

San Donato Milanese (Milan), 31 March 2010 – Saipem has been awarded new offshore contracts for a total value of approximately €700 million.

In Kazakhstan, Saipem has been awarded by Agip KCO the extension of the contract assigned in 2005 (or previously assigned) for the installation of the offshore facilities system relating to the experimental phase of the Kashagan field development programme (‘Kashagan Piles and Flares’). The Kashagan field is located in the northern part of the Caspian Sea, for the production of crude oil and associated gases by an artificial offshore facilities system denominated Block D and Block A and is characterised by very shallow water, severe weather, stringent environmental restrictions alongside the lack of infrastructure for the offshore industry, making the project complex and challenging. The contract, which has been extended to December 2010, encompasses the fabrication, assembly, transport and installation of the flares and of the piles sustaining the offshore structures, along with the installation of 14 module barges. Included in the scope of work are also the procurement, fabrication and installation of associated mooring, protection and interconnection structures. The offshore activities are executed by the vessel Ersai 1, a construction barge built specifically for the scope of the project. The piles and flares are fabricated in the Ersai’s Kuryk yard in Kazakhstan, in which Saipem has a participation of 50%.

In the United Kingdom, Saipem signed with ConocoPhillips Petroleum Company U.K. Ltd. the contract for the installation of three platforms for the Jasmine Development Project. The Jasmine field is located in the U.K. sector of the central North Sea, about 240 km south-east of Aberdeen. The scope of work encompasses the engineering, project management, transportation and offshore installation of three platforms and related interconnection structures, in a water depth of approximately 80 metres. The platforms will have an overall weight of about 7,100, 11,600 and 11,700 tons, respectively. The offshore installation will be performed by the vessel Saipem 7000, in different time frames during 2011 and 2012, and will be completed in the third quarter of 2012.

In Norway, Saipem has been awarded by ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS the contract for the installation of two platforms as part of the Greater Ekofisk Area Development project (GEAD). The contract encompasses the engineering, project management, transportation and offshore installation of two platforms and related interconnection structures in the Ekofisk Centre Field, located in the southern part of the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, in water depths of between 70 and 80 metres. The two platforms will have an overall weight in excess of 15,000 and 16,000 tons, respectively. The offshore installation will be performed in 2012 and 2013, in different time frames, by the vessel Saipem 7000 and will be completed in the third quarter of 2013.

Furthermore, Saipem has agreed with its clients various increases in the scope of its work on existing offshore contracts in West Africa.