Saipem Awarded Contracts Worth 500 Million Euros by Companies Across the Globe

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Oil and gas contracting company Saipem SpA (OTC:SAPMY) (Milan, Italy) has been awarded several onshore contracts that have a combined value of 500 million euros. The contracts are spread across Australia, Canada, Italy, Kazakhstan and Kuwait.

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) (San Ramon, California) has awarded a consortium of Saipem and Leighton Holdings Limited (ASX:LEI) (Sydney, Australia) the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) project on Barrow Island, off the coast of Pilbara in Western Australia. Besides the EPC work, the scope of work also involves fabrication and commissioning of the jetty and other related marine structures. The project's design stage is expected to begin immediately, and construction will begin in 2010. The project is expected to be completed by 2013. The 2.1-kilometer jetty will consist of 70-meter steel trusses that will be supported by 55 concrete caissons. By using concrete caissons instead of the traditional steel piles, the project will reduce the impact on the environment since steel piles would have had to be driven into the seabed. The loading platform will be about 4 kilometers from the shore. The marine structure will have navigation aids, tug pens and a heavy-lift facility.

Ray Sputore, Leighton's general manager for the western region of the Construction Division, said that the innovative use of caissons instead of steel piles would increase local employment opportunities and reduce the impact on the environment during the construction stage. The caissons will be fabricated at the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson, Western Australia, and transported to the project site. The caissons will then be lowered onto the sea floor to provide the jetty with the required support. The use of this innovative technology will both reduce the length of the construction period and eliminate the noise and vibration created when driving piles into the seabed.

The Gorgon project involves the development of the Greater Gorgon gas fields located off the coast of Western Australia. The project is being jointly implemented by the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron, ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) (Irving, Texas) and Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) (Shell) (The Hague, Netherlands). Chevron will be operating the facility in future. The Gorgon gas fields are Australia's largest proven gas resource, with a reserve of about 40 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) (Ahmadi, Kuwait) has awarded Saipem an EPC contract under which Saipem will replace the compressor systems at KOC's Gathering Centers 07, 08 and 21, all three of which are located in southern Kuwait. The scope of work also involves the demolition and disposal of the existing facilities, installation and commissioning of the new facilities, and training of personnel. Each Gathering Center will be fitted with a new power-driven low pressure centrifugal compressor that will have power and control systems, as well as inlet and discharge scrubbers. The project is scheduled to be completed within 32 months.

The contracts in Canada, Italy and Kazakhstan involve the provision of several technical services, for Saipem's Renewables and Environment sector. Technical services usually include front end and continuing engineering, and project management services. The Renewables and Environment sector is Saipem's new business line under and falls under the companies Onshore Business Unit. The focus of this sector is on power generation from renewable sources, reduction of emissions, and water and soil remediation.

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