Saipem has sent the 7,500-tonne jacket for the Neptun Deep gas development from its Arbatax yard in Sardinia for installation in the Romanian Black Sea, according to Saipem.
The structure is bound for Neptun Deep, an offshore gas project operated by OMV Petrom and developed with Romgaz. Total investment is estimated at up to €4bn ($4.64bn), based on the 15 June EUR/USD rate of 1.1605.
The jacket is about 135 metres tall, with a base of about 50 metres by 50 metres. It was built horizontally and will be transported in the same position.
After arrival in the Black Sea, Saipem 7000 will lift the foundation vertically, install it on the seabed and anchor it with eight steel piles, each 2.5 metres in diameter.
Saipem won the Neptun Deep package in August 2023. The scope covers engineering, procurement, construction and installation of a gas production platform, including the Arbatax-built jacket and a topside being fabricated at Saipem’s Karimun yard in Indonesia.
The package also includes subsea work at the Domino field, in water depth of about 1,000 metres, and the Pelican field, in about 125 metres. Saipem will also lay a 30-inch gas pipeline of about 160 km and an associated fibre-optic cable from the offshore platform to the Romanian coast, including microtunnelling for the shore landing.
Saipem SpA is an Italian engineering and construction company registered in Milan, active in offshore engineering and construction, robotics, offshore drilling, onshore engineering and construction, offshore wind and sustainable infrastructure services.
OMV Petrom is a Romanian integrated energy producer with operations in exploration, production, refining, marketing of oil and natural gas, power generation and renewable energy investments.
Romgaz is a Romanian joint-stock company majority-owned by the Romanian state, with activities in natural gas exploration, production, storage, commercialisation and supply.