MEOG: Saipem wins Saudi engineering work

Italian engineer Saipem reported this week that it has been awarded two engineering contracts by Aramco under the Saudi firm’s long-term agreement (LTA) programme. The contracts, worth around $1bn combined, relate to the Marjan, Safaniyah and Zuluf oilfields.

According to a press release from the Italian company, the first contract covers engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) for three production deck modules (PDMs), 33 km of subsea rigid, 12- and 16-inch (305mm and 406mm) pipelines and 34 km of subsea power cables for Marjan.

For Safaniyah and Zuluf, the contract covers EPCI work on three jackets, five PDMs, 22 km of subsea rigid, 16-inch pipelines, 5 km of subsea flexible pipelines, and 35 km of subsea power cables.

The work will be carried out at Saipem Taqa Al-Rushaid Fabricators Co. at the King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam, the Italian firm’s local yard.

According to Aramco’s 2022 annual report, “Construction and engineering activities for the Marjan and Berri crude oil increments are underway and expected to add production capacity of 300,000 bpd and 250,000 bpd respectively by 2025.”

These are part of a raft of crude increment programmes that were intended to add around 1.2mn barrels per day of new capacity, raising maximum sustainable capacity (MSC) to 13mn bpd and offsetting decline elsewhere. However, in January, Aramco announced that it had been directed by the government to abandon the expansion.