Italian Saipem Wins $200mn Drilling Contracts

Saipem has been awarded offshore drilling contracts in Norway and the Middle East totalling over $200mn, it said April 5. The Norwegian contract is with a new client, Wintershall, and covers two wells and two optional wells, "in continuity with previous engagements for operations offshore Norway."

The contract will be executed by the sixth-generation semi-submersible rig Scarabeo 8, a drilling unit capable of operations in harsh environments, and is expected to be there until around the second quarter of 2020.

The Middle East contract is a four-year extension of the use of the high-spec jack-up Perro Negro 7. capable of operating in water depths of up to 375 feet. It started work started late March.