Saipem: New facility to feature the largest heavy lift crane in Guyana

The Saipem Guyana Offshore Construction Facility, a new facility from Italy’s offshore contractor Saipem, has been inaugurated at the port of Georgetown in Guyana.

Saipem and Guyana have been enjoying a fruitful interaction for the last four years, starting with the award of the ground-breaking Liza Phase 1 contract in 2017 by ExxonMobil. Since then, the company has been awarded contract awards for Liza phase 2 in 2018 and more recently the Payara development project, also for ExxonMobil.

The Payara development will connect 41 wells in total, including production, water injection and gas injection wells.

The Italian company received the authorization to proceed with the final phase of the Payara development project in November 2020. This authorization allowed for the finalization of the detailed engineering and procurement activities and the full execution of the contract scope..

Saipem said on Monday that this new offshore construction facility boasts direct access to the Demerara river: this enables fabricated items to be loaded onto vessels to be delivered offshore. It will feature the largest heavy lift crane in Guyana, and specialized fabrication, welding and testing equipment and a heavy load-bearing jetty.

All construction work for the new facility has been awarded to Guyanese contractors. 

Thanks to the new Offshore Construction Facility, Saipem will now be able to fabricate jumpers and other sophisticated subsea structures in Guyana.

Conducting these types of operations will also require highly skilled local workers, for which the company will now escalate its already ongoing training effort to include new specializations in cooperation with recognized Guyanese organizations, schools, and service providers. This initiative broadens the company’s presence in Guyana.

Giorgio Martelli, President & CEO of Saipem America, commented: “The inauguration of Saipem’s Offshore Construction Facility in Guyana will enable us to provide highly-skilled local services and support to the advantage of current and future energy projects in the country”.