In the US sector of the Gulf of Mexico, Saipem has been awarded the contract for the Walker Ridge export pipeline, in the framework of the development of the Jack and Saint Malo (JSM) fields, by Amberjack Pipeline Company LLC, a partnership between Chevron Pipe Line Company and Shell Pipeline Company LP, located approximately 450 kilometres (280 miles) south of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the Walker Ridge area of the US Gulf.
The scope of work encompasses the transportation and installation of a crude oil export pipeline, 61 cm (24 inches) in diameter, which will have a length of 220 kilometres (136 miles), reaching a maximum water depth of 2,140 metres (7,000 feet), connecting the JSM Floating Production Unit. The marine activities will be performed by the new-built pipelayer vessel Castorone in different timeframes, beginning in the first quarter 2013.
The contract represents the first award for Castorone, the pipelayer vessel currently under construction. The Castorone is designed to lay large-diameter pipelines up to 152 cm (60 inches) (including coating). It will be 330 metres (1,083 feet) in length, 39 metres (128 feet) wide and will be equipped with a dynamic positioning system DP3.