Saipem Rakes In $1.25B In Middle East Contracts

Italian company Saipem has been awarded several contracts, both onshore and offshore, in the Middle East worth approximately $1.25 billion.

Saipem said that the first group of contracts concerns the extension of onshore drilling contracts in the Middle East for an overall amount of approximately $600 million.

The awards relate to the ten-year extension of existing contracts regarding four land rigs located in the Middle East.

The land rigs, with power ranging from 1,500 to 2,000 HP, will be employed for exploration and production activities in various oil and gas fields, in continuity with operations under execution in the area, the company explained.

Furthermore, Saipem has been selected to be awarded four new contracts in the Middle East. The scope of work of the contracts encompasses the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation of several offshore jackets, decks, subsea pipelines, subsea composite cables, umbilicals, fiber optic cables, and brownfield modifications. The combined value of the contracts is approximately $650 million.

In recent Saipem news, the Italian company signed a Memorandum of Agreement with BW Energy for the sale of the FPSO Cidade de Vitoria, currently owned by Saipem and operated by Petrobras in the Golfinho field offshore Brazil.

The sale of the FPSO is subject to the closing of the acquisition by BW Energy of the 100 percent operating working interest in the Golfinho field from Petrobras expected to occur in the first quarter of 2023.

Under the MoA, BW Energy will pay Saipem $73 million of which $25 million is due at the Golfinho transaction closing, $13 million is due at FPSO takeover and customs clearance, expected in 2023, and $35 million will be paid in 18 monthly installments following the takeover.

Considering the terms of the Golfinho transaction, the current lease and operation contract between Saipem and Petrobras – which would have expired in February 2023 – has been extended until the FPSO takeover, or June 2024, whichever comes first.

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