BP Awards Saipem Group Caspian Contracts

Italian Saipem, in consortium with Boshelf and Star Gulf, has won three new contracts from BP for the development of the Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli oil and gas (ACG) fields offshore Azerbaijan, it said October 4.

Saipem has been a key contractor in these fields since the 1990s. About 120 km from the coast of Azerbaijan, the Caspian Sea deposits extend over an area of more than 4,000 km² and are one of the largest of their kind in the world, it said.

Two contracts are for pipeline design, pipe-laying and related activities, while the third is for transportation and installation of four jacket pin piles, subsea structure and spools. Saipem’s share is about $145mn.

The three firms also did the front-end engineering and design (Feed) work, being engaged at an early stage and on a fast track basis. the Italian engineering firm said. Last October, the same trio also landed a subsea, umbilicals, risers and flowlines contract from Total and Socar, the joint and equal operators of the Caspian Sea Absheron field.