Saipem: A Fleet Grows in Brazil
As some pre-salt plays begin production, a wide range of subsea infrastructure is being built, with O&G transportation pipeline grids being one of the vital downstream systems. Saipem has been recipient of the first major contracts to install deepwater pre-salt pipelines by national operator Petrobras. Claudio Paschoa, Maritime Reporter’s correspondent in Brazil brings us an in-depth look at Saipem’s vessels and projects in Brazil. Saipem’s pipelaying segment is part of a unified Business Unit Engineering & Construction, an entity with more than 30,000 employees from more than 100 nationalities, with more than 60 permanent establishments and numerous project execution centers worldwide, which has maintained yearly revenues exceeding $13 billion.
Brazil Offshore: Petrobras & Subsea Engineering
Brazil’s Petrobras has been one of the leading players in deepwater, subsea development projects since the turn of the century. These projects include pre-salt and post-salt plays, which require extensive and complex subsea engineering and construction efforts. It would be impossible for Petrobras to develop all of its projects alone, therefore much is done by specialized companies, mostly of foreign origin. “We could not have advanced in this project (pre-salt) conventionally, developing the production individually. We needed a global vision of the projects, starting from a high level plan,” said José Formigli, Petrobras’ Executive Director of E&P, speaking of the primary plan for the development of the pre-salt at the Santos Basin, the Plansal, which was created in 2008.
New E&C Offshore Contracts Worth Over $1 billion
San Donato Milanese (Milan), 3 May 2011 – Saipem has been awarded new E&C Offshore contracts worth in excess of $1 billion in China and Brazil. The offshore activities for both the contracts will be performed mainly by the newly-built and highly-specialized Saipem FDS 2 vessel, in different periods between 2012 and 2013. In China, Husky Oil China Ltd awarded Saipem the contract for the Liwan 3-1 Field – Deepwater EPCI. The scope of work includes the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of two 22 inch diameter 79-kilometres-long pipelines…
