Aramco awarded Milan-based contractor Saipem an offshore contract valued at c. USD 2 bn to develop the Marjan oil field, Saipem said in a statement yesterday. The contract was awarded after Saipem completed bidding and met all requirements. The story was picked up by Reuters.

The contract scope: Saipem will handle the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation of several key components, including wellhead platforms, jackets, a tie-in platform, rigid flowlines, submarine composite cables, and fiber optic cables. The project will leverage Saipem’s local offshore fleet. Fabrication will also take place at the Saipem Taqa Al Rushaid Fabricators (STAR) yard in Dammam, in a bid to boost the local component of the contract and develop Saudi industry.

The contract was signed under an existing long-term agreement between both firms. Earlier this month, Aramco awarded two contracts worth a combined USD 1 bn to Saipem for EPC works at Marjan oil and gas field, Zuluf oil field, and Safaniya oil fields.

Marjan is set to boost Aramco’s oil production capacity: The oil giant reported in its 1Q results that the Marjan crude oil increment is expected to add crude oil production capacities of 300k bbl / d and are on track and forecasted to be onstream by next year.

Long-standing partners: Saipem said earlier this year that it is forecasting a 20% fall in average annual orders from Aramco until 2027 on the back of the oil giant’s decision to shelve plans of investment in new production capacity. However, it said Aramco’s suspension would not significantly impact its 2024 targets.

Tags: