Saipem SpA

ExxonMobil Moçambique Limitada has awarded a letter of intent to McDermott Energy Solutions (UK) Limited for limited engineering and procurement services on the Rovuma LNG Phase 1 midstream development. The award was made on behalf of the Area 4 partners and supports continued project definition ahead of a final investment decision expected in 2026. McDermott is a majority shareholder in the SMDC joint venture with Saipem, Daewoo Engineering & Construction, and China Petroleum Engineering & Construction Corporation, which will execute the work. The onshore development is planned to include 12 modular liquefaction modules producing 18.6 million tonnes of LNG per year, with start-up anticipated in 2031, and represents ExxonMobil's largest single investment. Engineering of the inside battery limits will be performed from McDermott's London and Gurgaon offices, while project management will be seconded to the joint venture team in Milan.

Saipem has secured contracts from Eni and its affiliates worth approximately €800 million, or $911 million, for two projects. The first contract, awarded by Eni Côte d'Ivoire and its partners, covers the third development phase of the Baleine oil and gas field offshore Ivory Coast, including engineering, fabrication, transport and installation of around 50 kilometers of rigid pipelines, subsea structures, flexible risers, jumpers, subsea production systems, a 3-kilometer flexible gas export flowline and 22 kilometers of subsea umbilicals, with work expected to last about three years using the FDS and Shen Da construction vessels. The second contract, from Eni subsidiary Enilive, involves engineering, procurement and construction of a new deoxygenation unit at the Venice biorefinery in Porto Marghera, Italy, designed to process 70 tonnes per hour of biogenic feedstocks and increase hydrotreated vegetable oil biofuel output, forming part of a wider collaboration on biorefining projects following a previous award for biojet fuel production at the same site announced in June 2025.

Eni has awarded Saipem a long-term offshore drilling contract valued at approximately $260 million for a campaign offshore Cote d'Ivoire. Saipem will deploy its seventh-generation Santorini drillship, which can operate in water depths up to 12,000 feet, with operations expected to begin in early 2027 under a firm work commitment. The contract also includes optional periods and the potential for deployment in neighboring countries, which could extend the drillship's utilization and improve long-term revenue visibility. Eni has been active in Cote d'Ivoire since 2015 and earlier this year made the Calao South discovery using the same Santorini drillship.

Saipem has secured unconditional antitrust approval from Brazil's CADE for its proposed merger with Subsea7, while separately agreeing to sell its Saudi Arabian shallow-water drilling business to ADES Saudi Limited Company for $285 million. The merger, which will create a combined entity called Saipem7, faced objections from major oil companies over market concentration but was cleared without restrictions, though the decision may still be appealed. The asset sale includes a fleet of five jack-up rigs and is part of Saipem's strategy to focus on deepwater and harsh-environment drilling, with closing expected in the third quarter of 2026. A bareboat charter arrangement will allow Saipem to continue its Mexico operations using the Perro Negro 10 rig.

Saipem has secured a major offshore contract worth about $1 billion from Azule Energy for the Greater PAJ development off the coast of Angola. The project, which comprises Blocks 31 and 31/21, is the first integrated cross-block development in Angola and a significant ultra-deepwater project in sub-Saharan Africa. Under the contract, Saipem will handle engineering, fabrication, transportation and installation of subsea infrastructure, including about 180 kilometers of rigid pipelines, 38 kilometers of flexible flowlines and jumpers, and 54 kilometers of umbilicals, at water depths of up to 2,000 meters. The company will use its FDS and Castorone construction vessels for offshore installation and carry out fabrication at its Ambriz yard in Angola, with an estimated contract duration of about 40 months. The award reinforces Saipem's position in complex deepwater developments and is expected to support Angola's efforts to counter production decline from mature fields.

Saipem has started offshore operations for the GranMorgu project in Suriname, with the Normand Navigator construction vessel moored at Jules Sedney Harbour in Paramaribo. This marks the first phase of activity at Suriname's inaugural large-scale offshore oil development, located in Block 58 about 150 kilometers offshore. The project is managed by TotalEnergies with a 40% stake, alongside APA at 40% and Staatsolie at 20%, and production is scheduled to begin in 2028. Saipem's contract covers engineering, procurement, supply, construction, and installation of the subsea umbilicals, risers, and flowlines system, plus pre-commissioning and support during commissioning and start-up at water depths from 100 to 1,100 meters. The company has set up a logistics hub of 30,000 to 40,000 square meters at Jules Sedney Harbour and is using the DORDT marine support base in Paramaribo for heavy subsea structures. Separately, Brazil's antitrust authority CADE has approved without restrictions the proposed merger between Saipem and Subsea7, though the decision can be appealed and major oil companies including ExxonMobil, Petrobras, and TotalEnergies have opposed the merger. Additionally, Saipem secured a new contract in Angola from Azule Energy Exploration and Azule Energy Angola, subsidiaries of an Eni and bp joint venture, valued at 1 billion dollars for transportation and installation services for the Greater PAJ ultra-deepwater project.