Saipem Wins $500 Million in Drilling Contracts

Saipem has been awarded new offshore and onshore drilling contracts worth approximately $500 million.

In offshore drilling, the company signed a two-year extension of the contract with ENI for the charter of Perro Negro 8, beginning in November. The jack-up rig is capable of operating in water depths of up to 350 ft. The company also obtained an increase in rates of existing contracts for the charter of Perro Negro 6 and Saipem 10000, respectively, in Angola and Mozambique.

In Nigeria, Saipem has been assigned a contract for the extension of the charter of the semi-submersible rig Scarabeo 3 by Addax Petroleum, until February 2014. The second generation semi-submersible drilling rig is capable of operating in water depths of up to 1,500 ft.

Furthermore, Saipem signed an 18 month extension of its contract with NDC for the charter of the jack-up Perro Negro 2, which is engaged in drilling activities offshore Abu Dhabi. The extension of the contract starts from Q2 2012.

The company’s onshore awards come from several clients for 14 rigs in South America, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, and Italy. The contracts, of which 7 are new acquisitions and 7 are extensions, range in length from two months to two years, and start in different periods of 2012.