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.