Saipem has won a contract worth around $4.5bn from Qatargas pertaining to two offshore gas compression complexes for the offshore North field in Qatar.

The contract is for the North Field Production Sustainability (NFPS) Offshore Compression Complexes Project – EPC 2.

According to Saipem, the award from Qatargas marks the largest single offshore contract by total value in its history.

Under the contract, the Italian oilfield services company will be responsible for the engineering, procurement, fabrication, and installation of the offshore natural gas compression complexes.

The aim of the two complexes is to sustain the production of the North Field.  The offshore natural gas compression complexes will include two fixed steel jacket compression platforms, interconnecting bridges, flare platforms, interface modules, and living quarters.

Saipem said that it will make use of its own assets to execute the contract along with its expertise and capabilities related to offshore engineering, installation, and fabrication.

The Italian firm stated: “With this contract, Saipem accelerates its strategic repositioning in the offshore segments (E&C and drilling) which represent the large majority of the announced order intake year-to-date, further supporting the delivery of its Strategic Plan.”

Last year, Saipem won a contract worth over $1bn from Qatargas for the North Field. The contract was related to offshore facilities for extracting and transporting natural gas produced from the Qatari field.

In April 2021, the Italian contractor won additional scope of work worth around $350m for the same project. The additional work is related to rerouting of the hydrocarbons from existing wellhead platform via the new facilities because of the decommissioning of an existing pipeline.

​​The North Field is located off the north-east coast of the Qatar peninsula. It spans an area of over 6,000km2.