Saipem rakes in $1 billion for new assignments with Aramco and Petrobras

Italy’s oilfield services provider Saipem has secured new contracts, which are worth approximately $1 billion. The first deal is for the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) offshore activities in the Middle East while the second one is for the development of underwater drones in Brazil.

The Italian giant got a new contract in Brazil with Petrobras for the development and testing of an autonomous subsea inspection robotic solution, which will be based on the oilfield services giant’s fleet of underwater drones, starting from the Flatfish AUV, as well as the qualification of related autonomous drone-based services, enabling future inspection contract options offshore Brazil.

“This contract marks a fundamental milestone for Saipem’s innovative underwater robotics programme and for the global scale utilisation of subsea drones in offshore projects throughout the entire value chain, and it allows to extend the new features to the Technology Readiness Level 8 (TRL8) achieved on Saipem’s fleet of subsea drones. The potential of these subsea technologies within the offshore domain is vast, both for oil and gas developments as well as for the renewables market segment,” highlighted Saipem.

According to the oilfield services player, it has also been selected for the award of a new offshore project in the Middle East under the existing long-term agreement (LTA) with Saudi Aramco and the scope of work involves the EPCI of five platforms and associated subsea pipelines, flowlines, and cables in the Marjan field, offshore Saudi Arabia, featuring an entirely in-Kingdom fabrication scheme. This field is located in the Arabian Gulf, off Saudi Arabia’s East Coast, and is one of the largest oil and gas fields in the region.

The company explains that the effectiveness of the contract is subject to the fulfilment of the customary conditions precedent. However, Saipem is of the opinion that this deal further strengthens its long-standing relationship with Saudi Aramco and its strategic positioning in the Middle East. This deal comes only days after the Italian player won a drilling contract in the Middle East for the Perro Negro 7 jack-up rig.

In addition, the firm scored another rig deal in the Mediterranean Sea for the Scarabeo 9 semi-submersible rig. These recent contract awards come a month after the company won two new offshore contracts with an overall value of approximately $850 million.