Italian offshore engineering and construction firm Saipem has won two new offshore contracts in the North Sea and the Black Sea, worth $850 million in total.
One contract is for an Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (EPCI) project in the Black Sea, and one is for decommissioning activities in the North Sea.
In the Black Sea, Turkish Petroleum OTC has assigned Saipem the contract for the second phase of Sakarya FEED and EPCI Project and entails the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation of a 16” pipeline, 175 km long, in a water depth of 2,200 meters, in the Turkish Black Sea waters.
The offshore operations will begin in the summer of 2024 and will be conducted by Saipem’s flagship vessel Castorone, Saipem said.
Saipem has recently completed the first phase of the Sakarya Gas Field Development project, awarded by Turkish Petroleum OTC in 2021.
In the UK North Sea, EnQuest Heather Limited has awarded Saipem a contract to decommission the Thistle A offshore platform. The Thistle A platform is located around 510 kilometers northeast of Aberdeen, in a water depth of 162 meters.
Saipem’s activities include the engineering, preparation, removal, and disposal of the jacket and topsides, with possible extension to further subsea facilities.
The activities will be carried out by the Saipem 7000, one of the largest semi-submersible heavy-lifting vessels in the world, which will return the 46-year-old Thistle A topsides and jacket to shore.
The engineering work will begin later in 2023, with removals planned between 2025 and 2027.
John Allan, EnQuest Decommissioning Director, said: “This award is a significant milestone in the journey to decommissioning our Thistle asset responsibly and efficiently.
"Working closely with our decommissioning partners, EnQuest is clearly demonstrating world-class capability in this increasingly important sector which is making a significant contribution to the decarbonization goals not only of the companies involved, but of the UK itself.”