Italian oil field services company Saipem has secured a new contract for the development of the Bouri Gas Utilisation Project (BGUP), located in shallow water off the Libyan coast.
Mellitah Oil & Gas Libyan Branch, a consortium comprising Libya’s National Oil Corporation and Eni North Africa, has awarded the contract, worth around $1bn.
Under the terms of the contract, Saipem will revamp the platforms and facilities related to the Bouri gas field, which lies in water depths between 145m and 183m, offshore Libya.
The contract includes engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) of around 5,000t Gas Recovery Module (GRM) onto the existing DP4 offshore facility.
In addition, the field services company will construct 28km of pipelines to connect the DP3, DP4 and Sabratha platforms.
Saipem plans to execute the main lifting operations using its semi-submersible crane vessel Saipem 7000.
Saipem, in its statement, said: “With this award, Saipem confirms its commitment and competitive positioning offshore Libya. The completion of the project will make an important contribution to reducing CO2 emissions in Libya.
“Pursuant to Article 6 of the Consob Regulation on related party transactions, Saipem informs that the above transaction qualifies as a “related party transaction” since Eni S.p.A. jointly controls both Saipem and Mellitah Oil & Gas B.V.”
Discovered in 1976, Bouri offshore field is part of Block NC-41, located 120km north of the Libyan coast in the Mediterranean Sea, at a depth of 8,700ft.
The field is estimated to contain 4.5 billion barrels in proven recoverable crude oil reserves and 3.5 trillion cubic feet of associated natural gas.