UTEC to support Saipem in Zohr field development

UTEC, a global survey company in subsea services group Acteon, has been awarded a contract with the construction company Saipem to support its operations as part of the Zohr field development project off Egypt. 

To remind, Eni, the operator of the giant Zohr gas discovery in the Mediterranean Sea, in July 2016 awarded Saipem an engineering, procurement, construction & installation (EPCI) contract for the accelerated start-up of the development project for the Zohr field.

In its statement on Thursday, UTEC said it will bring its experience in Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) to the project, which is expected to be one of the biggest gas field discoveries in the Mediterranean Sea, with an estimated 850 billion cubic meters (30 trillion cubic feet) of gas in place.

UTEC added it will work with Saipem in performing surface positioning on-board the Saipem operated barges, Bautino and Castoro 10, and associated Anchor Handling Vehicles (AHVs), while also providing trenching support, including trench monitoring services and as-trenched surveys utilizing UTEC’s Teledyne Gavia AUVs in water depths ranging from 2.5m to 20m. The contract is expected to last around five months.

Cory Goodyear, UTEC Business Unit Director, Europe and Africa, said: “UTEC has built up a strong relationship with Saipem utilizing AUV solutions in Africa, and we look forward to continuing our close working relationship to remain at the forefront of emerging technology and ensure that all of our customers continue to receive world-class service and solutions.”

Paul Smith, UTEC Global Director, Projects and Operations, added: “By deploying AUVs from vessels already in field, Saipem has been able to eliminate the requirement for a dedicated survey vessel to support this phase of the project.”