Saipem’s Castorone en route to Türkiye’s largest natural gas field for pipeline installation

Saipem’s pipelay vessel Castorone is on its way to the Black Sea where it will perform offshore pipeline installation for the second phase of Türkiye’s largest natural gas field.

On its way to the Sakarya project, Castorone crossed the Dardanelles Strait early on December 26, covering a distance of 36 nautical miles in approximately six hours, further sailing through the Sea of Marmara. The vessel reached and crossed the Bosphorus Strait on the morning of December 27, covering a distance of 18 nautical miles in about three hours.

As part of a consortium, Saipem secured the contract for the second phase of the Sakarya FEED and EPCI project from Turkish Petroleum – Offshore Technology Center (TP – OTC), under which it is delivering the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) of a circa 158-kilometer-long 16-inch pipeline, to be laid at a maximum depth of 2,200 meters in Turkish waters of the Black Sea, in addition to a circa 21-kilometer 16-inch intrafiled pipeline at the same depth.

In the second half of 2022, the company completed the first phase of the Sakarya pipeline development project, awarded in 2021, with the laying of a deepwater pipeline.

Sakarya, the largest natural gas field discovered in Türkiye, is located approximately 150 kilometers off the coast of Ereğli.

In September, Türkiye welcomed the arrival of its first-ever floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which will double the gas production from the deepwater gas field once it kicks off its 20-year assignment in 2026.

Castorone, built in 2012, is 330 meters long and 40 meters wide and can reach a maximum speed of 12 knots, accommodating over 700 personnel on board. According to Saipem, the vessel can lay pipelines in S-lay configuration in both shallow and deep waters, up to 3,000 meters. It features a Class 3 dynamic positioning system with eight thrusters, as well as an adjustable 120-meter-long stinger and tensioning capacity of up to 1,200 tons allowing it to handle pipelines with diameters of up to 60 inches.

The vessel’s technological systems include advanced welding equipment and two remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), developed by Sonsub, Saipem’s center of excellence for robotics, technologies, and subsea services.

To date, Castorone has installed approximately 3,500 kilometers of pipelines, including a record-breaking depth of 2,200 meters achieved during the first phase of the Sakarya project, Saipem noted.