New milestone for Saipem as first topsides head to QatarEnergy’s North Field project

Italian EPC contractor Saipem has reached a new milestone with the shipment of the first three topsides for QatarEnergy LNG’s North Field project offshore the northeast coast of Qatar.

Courtesy of Saipem

Courtesy of Saipem

On March 13, Saipem shared an update saying that the first three topsides (one wellhead production and two riser platforms) were loaded out from its Karimun fabrication yard in Indonesia.

The modules are bound for installation at QatarEnergy LNG’s North Field production sustainability offshore and pipelines project aimed at sustaining the production plateau of the world’s largest non-associated natural gas field.

“This pivotal milestone underlines our engineering and fabrication capabilities and our significant role in a world-class project,” Saipem said.

The modules are part of the $3 billion contracts awarded by QatarEnergy, former Qatargas, to Saipem in 2021 for the North Field production sustainability project.

The scope of work involves the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) of various offshore facilities for the extraction and transportation of natural gas, including platforms, supporting and connecting structures, subsea cables, and anticorrosion internally cladded pipelines as well as the decommissioning of a pipeline and other significant modifications to existing offshore facilities.

The additional scope of work is related to rerouting of the hydrocarbons from the existing wellhead platform through the new facilities, due to the existing pipeline being decommissioned.

In 2022, Saipem secured a contract by Qatargas worth approximately $4.5 billion, the largest single offshore contract by value in its history.

This deal encompasses the engineering, procurement, fabrication, and installation of two offshore natural gas compression complexes aimed at sustaining the production of the North Field, including two of the largest fixed steel jacket compression platforms ever built, flare platforms, interconnecting bridges, living quarters, and interface modules.

QatarEnergy’s North Field production expansion includes the North Field East (NFE) and the North Field South (NFS) projects being developed in collaboration with Shell, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, ConocoPhillips, Sinopec, CNPC, and Eni.

The North Field expansion project project encompasses six mega trains, each with a production capacity of 8 mtpa of LNG, four of which are part of the NFE, and two are part of the NFS, contributing a total of 48 mtpa to the global LNG supplies.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, laid the foundation stone of the North Field expansion project on October 3, 2023.

QatarEnergy recently disclosed plans to proceed with a new LNG expansion project, called the North Field West (NFW), to further raise the country’s LNG production capacity by almost 85% from current production levels before the end of this decade.