LNG

Saipem, the Italian engineer for LNG, oil and pipeline gas subsea contracts, has been chosen to ensure the supervision and any subsea intervention services for the GreenStream gas pipeline linking Libya to Italy and the longest and deepest pipeline ever laid in the Mediterranean Sea.

GreenStream BV, a joint venture comprising Italian oil and gas major Eni and the Libyan National Oil Corporation, awarded the work to Saipem.

The GreenStream system conveys natural gas from coastal facilities at Mellitah in Libya to Gela on the Italian island of Sicily. 

Libya is a former LNG exporter but the Marsa el Brega LNG export plant was destroyed during the years of conflict in the North African nation.

The LNG facility was the third to start operations in 1970, after Alaska and Algeria, and exported 3.2 million tonnes per annum from four liquefaction Trains.

As part of the broader and revived Western Libyan Gas Project, GreenStream connects the Mellitah Compression Station, on the Libyan coast, with the receiving terminal in Gela in Sicily where Libyan gas arrives from two fields.

Libyan gas fields

The first gas field, Bahr Essalam, is offshore the Libyan coast and the second, the Wafa gas field, is located in the Libyan desert near the border with Algeria.

The Libya-Italy Mediterranean pipeline has a diameter of 32-inches and is around 520 kilometres (323 miles) long.

GreenStream crosses points near Malta and with waters depths reaching 1,127 metres.

The Gas Compression Station at Mellitah (MGCS) is beside the Gas Treatment Plant that compresses the gas to be exported and up to the pressure required for the entering the Italian Gas Transport Network.

Asset integrity

The latest contract awarded by GreenStream to Saipem is renewing a work programme in force since 2008 that included asset integrity, inspection, maintenance and emergency pipeline services.

“The activities will be managed by Saipem’s center of excellence for robotics, underwater technologies and services, and executed in coordination with the Saipem Engineering Hub located in Fano in Italy,” Saipem added.

“The scope of work streamlines the integrated management of survey data and critical spares, the provision of specialized engineering services related to asset integrity and readiness services for repair interventions in case of a wide range of damage scenarios,” Milan-based Saipem added.

Specifically, repair interventions in case of damage will be performed via a remotely operated repair system and qualified to operate in water depths of up to 2,200 metres.

“With this award Saipem will contribute to managing the integrity of a fundamental underwater infrastructure for the Italian energy supply system,” the company added.

“It also consolidates the long-term cooperation between Saipem and GreenStream BV, which in 2002 awarded the company a contract for the pipelaying of the said pipeline, a project thanks to which Saipem achieved the record for the deepest pipe-laying with anchors,” Saipem concluded.

May 20 (LNGJ) - Saipem, the Italian energy and LNG engineering company specialising in subsea work, has been awarded a new offshore contract by Azule Energy of Angola, a joint venture between Italy’s Eni and UK major BP. The contract, valued at $850 million, is for the development of the Ndungu Field as part of the Agogo Integrated West Hub Project, located 180 kilometres off the coast of Angola.

   Saipem said the scope of work entailed the engineering, fabrication, transportation and installation of around 60km of rigid pipelines and of the subsea facilities at a depth of around 1,100 metres, as well as the transportation and installation of flexible flowlines, jumpers and 17km of umbilicals. “Fabrication activities will be executed at Saipem’s Ambriz yard in Angola,” said Saipem.

Italian oil and gas and LNG project engineering company Saipem, which has extensive global subsea and pipeline expertise, said it reached “new and important project” landmarks by contributing to the start of production of the Payara field, offshore the tiny nation of Guyana in the northeast corner of South America.

The start of production of the offshore oil field is the third project to which Saipem has contributed in the Stabroek Block

The field is operated by a consortium comprising US major ExxonMobil Corp, New York-based Hess Corp., currently being acquired by Chevron Corp., and the Chinese major China National Offshore Oil Corp.

Saipem contributed to the project development by providing engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the underwater facilities.

Saipem installed over 130 kilometres of thick rigid pipelines and risers in about 2,000 metres of water depth.

Guyana reserves

Guyana is among the leading oil and gas reserve holders in Latin America and will be a future large exporter of hydrocarbons along with Argentina, Brazil and Mexico as well as LNG producers Peru and Trinidad and Tobago.

The contract was fully released in 2020 by ExxonMobil Guyana and Saipem said its leading subsea assets such as “FDS2” and “Saipem Constellation” were deployed to carry out the project.

Furthermore, Saipem used its fabrication facility in Georgetown, Guyana, for the fabrication of 48 rigid jumpers, ensuring important local activity and jobs and enhancing sustainable investment in the country.

“Saipem has a consolidated presence in the country, having previously contributed to the development of the two phases of the Liza Project and to the start of the Yellowtail Project,” said the Milan-based company.

Guyana economic boost

The International Energy Agency noted that oil will be required for vehicle transport in the South American and Caribbean region well through 2050.

“Oil production has been rising in Brazil and Guyana, while it is in decline in Venezuela and Mexico,” said the IEA.

“Increased demand and prices for liquefied natural gas has also shone a spotlight on the important role played by LNG exporters such as Trinidad and Tobago and Peru in easing market tightness,” the Paris-based agency added.

Oil currently accounts for 86 percent of energy consumption today in the Latin American transport sector compared with 91 percent globally.

“The share of oil in road transport will decline below 80 percent by 2030 to around 40 percent by 2050,” said the IEA, forecasting that 60 percent of bus and other vehicle transport will come from the “growing use of electricity and bioenergy” vehicles.

“However, rising incomes also prompts an increase in the ownership of appliances and air conditioners, which are the main drivers of electricity consumption growth,” it added.

Saipem, the Italian energy and LNG engineering company specialising in subsea and oil and gas development projects and pipelines, posted soaring third-quarter revenues of more than €3 billion ($3.2Bln) as global demand surged.

Saipem said revenues to the end of September 2023 amounted to €3.02Bln compared with €2.85Bln in the same three months of 2022.

Quarterly gross earnings increased to €230 million versus €168M in the prior-year quarter. Net profits in the quarter came in at €39M versus a loss of €8M in the same quarter last year.

The Milan-based company said new contracts added to the backlog in the first nine months of 2023 amounted to €11.92Bln, an increase from the €6.92Bln in the corresponding period of 2022.

The backlog as of September 30, 2023 amounted to a total of €27.57Bln. These contracts comprised €15.08Bln in asset-based services, €10.33Bln in Energy Carriers and €2.15Bln in Offshore Drilling of which €2.69Bln was being completed in 2023.

LNG awards

Saipem won contracts earlier in 2023 with three linked to increased LNG production in Angola, Trinidad and Papua New Guinea.

“Group performance further improved with another quarter of growth in terms of revenues, margins, net result and cash generation, confirming the trend already recorded in the first six months of the year,” said Saipem.

“The improvement is recorded in the Offshore, Engineering and Construction and Drilling divisions,” Saipem added.

Saipem is also showing continued traction in the Middle East. After the close of the quarter, on October 5, Saipem, in consortium with National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC), signed on behalf of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company a contract related to the Hail and Ghasha development project-package one in the United Arab Emirates.

Saipem said its share of the contract amounted to around $4.1Bln. The project is aimed at developing the resources of the Hail and Ghasha natural gas fields located offshore Abu Dhabi.

The project scope of work encompasses the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of four drilling centres and one processing plant to be built on artificial islands, as well as various offshore structures and more than 300 kilometres of subsea pipelines.

Adriatic FSRU

As part of the domestic Italian LNG build-out Saipem was awarded a contract by Italian gas system operator SNAM for the construction of the associated facilities for the new Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) to be located in the Adriatic Sea offshore Ravenna as Italy’s fifth import terminal.

The contract, awarded jointly via a temporary venture with two other Italian companies Rosetti Marino and Micoperi, comprises the EPC and installation of a new offshore facility and for the docking and mooring of the FSRU.

The latest Italian floating terminal will be connected to shore via a 26-inch offshore pipeline of 8.5km length, plus a 2.6 km onshore pipeline and a parallel fibre optic cable.

Saipem, the Italian energy and LNG engineering company specializing in subsea work, has signed a letter of award with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc)  for a new contract related to the Hail and Ghasha natural gas development project in the United Arab Emirates.

Saipem said its share of the contract amounts to around $4.1 billion and has been awarded in consortium with the Abu Dhabi-based National Petroleum Construction Company (NPCC).

The project is aimed at developing the resources of the Hail and Ghasha natural gas fields, located offshore Abu Dhabi.

The fields lie in the Ghasha Concession block in water depth of around 328 feet and are expected to start commercial production in the next couple of years.

Saipem said the project scope of work encompassed the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) of four drilling centres and one processing plant to be built on artificial islands, as well as various offshore structures and more than 300 kilometres (187 miles) of subsea pipelines.

Integrated

“The award is in line with Saipem’s unique capability to deliver integrated onshore and offshore projects, providing its clients with a single and reliable interface for complex full-field developments,” said the Milan-based company.

“Saipem will leverage on its state-of-the-art shallow water offshore vessels, its advanced welding technology for corrosion resistant materials, as well as its renowned engineering expertise,” Saipem added.

“This award reinforces Saipem’s long-standing relationship with ADNOC and further consolidates the company’s presence in Abu Dhabi, which includes an Engineering and Project Execution Centre, as well as a new Offshore Logistic base in Zayed Port,” Saipem explained. 

ADNOC’s partners in the Hail and Ghasha gas development with a concession term of 40 years include Italy’s Eni, Germany’s Wintershall Dea and Austria’s OMV.

The multi-billion-dollar Hail and Ghasha project is also seen as playing a vital role in meeting the UAE’s gas self-sufficiency objectives.

It also comes at a time when a second UAE LNG production project plant is being developed at Al Ruwais Industrial City. The Ruwais LNG project consists of two 4.8 million metric tonnes annum liquefaction Trains with a total nameplate capacity of 9.6 MTPA.

The existing liquefaction plant on Das Island in the Arabian Gulf currently has export capacity of 6 MTPA. 

Saipem, the Italian offshore energy and LNG feed-gas specialist, was awarded a new drilling contract worth €400 million ($424M) in the Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa where the Baleine Phase 1 project for offshore oil and associated gas is currently moving forward to maintain the country's status as an African energy hub.

Italian LNG and energy engineering company Saipem has been awarded a contract valued at around $4.5 billion by Qatargas for the North Field Production Sustainability (NFPS) offshore compression project to enable the Arabian Gulf nation’s two forthcoming expansions.

Saipem, the Italian offshore energy and LNG engineering specialist, was awarded two contracts worth €1 billion ($961 million) by a joint venture in the Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa to develop the Baleine Phase 1 project for offshore oil and associated gas and to maintain the country's status as an African energy hub.

Oct 28 (LNGJ) - Saipem, the Milan-listed energy and LNG engineering company whose projects include Arctic LNG II, Nigeria’s LNG expansion and the Virginia Gas venture in South Africa, has entered into a global project cooperation agreement with TechnipFMC, the US-based subsea company.

   The commercial agreement will pursue specific subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF) projects where the combination can improve economics and de-risk the overall project development. “The agreement will provide a pool of complementary enabling vessels and facilities and a consolidated reel-laying and J-laying technology base,” said Stefano Porcari, Chief Operating Officer of Saipem’s Offshore Division.

Saipem, the company currently working on the major global LNG project, said it received a contract to conduct booster compression module front-end engineering and design services for the Australian Ichthys LNG export plant operated by Japan’s Inpex Corp.

The Italian company said it planned to install the BCM onto the “Ichthys Explorer” central processing facility.

The scope of work comprises the BCM front-end engineering and includes the option to provide a lump-sum price to execute the full engineering, procurement and construction scope from detailed design through to fabrication and load out.

Inpex is operator of the onshore Ichthys plant at Bladin Point near Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory.

The Australian Ichthys plant came on stream in 2018 and produces almost 9 million tonnes per annum of LNG from two processing Trains, while the Ichthys gas field is offshore northwest Australia and connected to the plant by a 890-kilometre subsea pipeline to Bladin Point.

Shares in Ichthys LNG held by Inpex amount to around 66 percent of equity, while French major Total has 26 percent.

Micro-stakes are additionally held by customers CPC Corp. of Taiwan and Japan’s main utilities and LNG buyers, JERA Co. Inc., Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Kansai Electric and Toho Gas.

“This contract furthers our presence in this strategic market,” said Gianalberto Secchi, Saipem Offshore Area Manager for the North Pacific-East Indian Ocean region.

Saipem has an impressive amount of work in its LNG project portfolio, especially on the subsea side and is currently involved in Mozambique LNG in southeast Africa in addition to other ventures.

Saipem is also involved with TechnipFMC, the Franco-US energy and LNG engineering company, in the Arctic LNG II venture being development by Russian natural gas company Novatek and its partners.

The Italian firm has additionally been retained for the engineering contract on the new seventh Train and debottlenecking project for Nigeria LNG.

That joint venture comprises Saipem, Chiyoda Corp. of Japan and Daewoo Engineering of South Korea.