Saipem wins Ichthys Project Pipeline contract from INPEX

Saipem has been awarded another major contract within the burgeoning Australian LNG sector.  Following on from contracts with both the Santos Gladstone LNG Project and Chevron’s Gorgon Project, Inpex has now awarded Saipem the E&C Offshore contract worth $1.8 billion.   Construction of the Gas Export Line (GEP) will be carried out by the newly-built Castorone pipelay vessel.

Saipem’s scope of work will include the Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation of 889 kilometres of a 42-inch-diameter subsea pipeline, in water depths of up to 275 metres, connecting the offshore central processing facility to the onshore processing facility in Darwin.

Offshore activities will be carried out during 2014 by the newly-built Castorone pipelay vessel. The recently upgraded Semac 1 pipelay barge will be employed for the shallow water section.

The Castorone vessel, designed to lay large-diameter pipelines, is currently under construction at the Keppel Shipyard in Singapore and is already committed to carrying out the Walker Ridge Export Pipeline project, in the US Gulf of Mexico.

Gas from the Ichthys Field, in the Browse Basin, approximately 200 kilometres offshore of Western Australia, will undergo preliminary processing offshore to remove water and extract condensate. The gas will then be exported to onshore processing facilities in Darwin via an 889 kilometres subsea pipeline. The Ichthys Project is expected to produce 8.4 million tonnes of LNG and 1.6 million tonnes of LPG per annum, along with approximately 100,000 barrels of condensate per day at peak.

In addition to this contract, Saipem was awarded the gas transmission pipeline contract for Santos’s Gladstone LNG Project and commenced mobilisation and preliminary survey work in late 2011.

The Saipem Leighton Consortium was also selected by Chevron for the Gorgon Project to develop the $900m Jetty and Marine Structures project. The scope of work includes design, material supply, fabrication, construction and commissioning of Australia’s longest LNG jetty which also includes supply, fabrication and construction of marine structures. Project design is underway and construction commenced late 2010 on Barrow Island, to be completed in 2013.

Saipem nearly always outsources the labour component and to date, this has typically gone to Brunel.  However, the tender process is currently underway and no announcement has been made on who the successful labour provider will be.  Positions available on a pipelay construction vessel include:

·         Radio Operators

·         Ballast Control Operators

·         Deck Foremen

·         Riggers

·         Pipeline Welders

·         Bevel Machine Operators

·         Trade Assistants

The Semac 1 has worked extensively in Australian waters on construction projects including Woodside's 2nd trunkline project, ConocoPhillips Bayu Undun project and the Minerva Yolla Project in Victoria. It has recently undergone a refurbishment with all cabins upgraded and an extra level of accommodation below the heli-deck.

As the work contract is awarded, we will let you know.  Stay tuned.