Saipem scoops up $4 billion for work on mega natural gas field offshore Qatar

Italy’s engineering, drilling, and construction services provider Saipem has won a multibillion-dollar deal for an offshore project designed to help maintain natural gas production from the biggest field off the northern coast of Qatar.

The new contract, which Saipem has described as important since it consolidates the Italian firm’s position and track record in Qatar, follows the engineering procurement and construction (EPC) package, worth around $4.5 billion, for the North Field production sustainability offshore compression complexes project – [COMP 2], awarded in October 2022 and currently being executed.

Saipem’s latest EPC contract has been awarded by QatarEnergy LNG, a subsidiary of Qatar’s state-owned energy giant QatarEnergy, for the combined COMP 3A and COMP 3B of the North Field production sustainability offshore compression program, aimed at sustaining the production of the natural gas reservoir located offshore the northeast coast of Qatar.

The $4 billion assignment’s scope of work covers the engineering, procurement, fabrication, and installation of six platforms as well as approximately 100 km of corrosion resistance alloy rigid subsea pipelines of 28’’ and 24’’ diameter, 100 km of subsea composite cables, 150 km of fiber optic cables and several other facilities.

QatarEnergy is working on bringing its vision for the North Field liquefied natural gas (LNG)  expansion program to life, which encompasses the North Field East, the North Field South (NFS), and North Field West (NFW) projects to raise Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77 to 142 million tons per annum (mtpa) in 2030.​

The start of construction of the North Field expansion project was celebrated in October 2023, when Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, laid the foundation stone for the NFE and NFS projects, encompassing six mega trains. Saipem confirmed the shipment of the first three topsides for QatarEnergy LNG’s project in March 2024.

The North Field, shared between Iran and Qatar and known as South Pars on the Iranian side, is perceived to be the world’s largest single non-associated natural gas field, which lies off the northeast shore of the Qatar peninsula, covering an area of more than 6,000 square kilometers, equivalent to about half the land area of the State of Qatar.​​

With recoverable reserves of more than 900 trillion standard cubic feet (tscf) or approximately 10% of the world’s known reserves, this field makes Qatar the world’s largest holder of proven gas reserves after Russia and Iran. QatarEnergy is pursuing a balancing act between energy security, affordability, and sustainability to propel the energy transition journey forward. 

In line with its plans for an LNG production capacity boost of nearly 85% by 2030, the Persian Gulf state’s energy giant is pursuing its LNG fleet expansion program through the execution of shipbuilding contracts and time charter agreements for 104 conventional LNG vessels and 24 QC-Max class LNG ships, amounting to a total of 128 ultra-modern vessels, with the naming ceremony for the first two ships held last week.

Saipem, which secured multiple deals recently, including two in Saudi Arabia, is looking into ways to enable emission-free oil and gas production. To this end, the Italian player joined forces with the UK-based newcleo to put nuclear technology into play at offshore oil and gas fields and look into the possibility of floating nuclear-powered prototypes to achieve zero-emission energy.