Italian contractor Saipem said it had secured a contract from LNG producer Qatargas, a unit of QatarEnergy, worth about $4.5 billion.
The contract is for the North Field Production Sustainability Offshore Compression Complexes Project – EPC 2 located offshore the north-east coast of Qatar, according to a statement by Saipem.
Saipem said this award represents the largest single offshore contract by total value in the company’s history.
It follows the award in early 2021 related to offshore facilities for extraction and transportation of natural gas for the same field.
The scope of work entails the engineering, procurement, fabrication and installation of two offshore natural gas compression complexes aimed at sustaining the production of the North Field.
This includes two of the largest fixed steel jacket compression platforms ever built, flare platforms, interconnecting bridges, living quarters and interface modules, Saipem said.
To execute this project, Saipem would leverage on its own assets, know-how and competences on offshore engineering, installation and fabrication, as well as its capability to maximize local content, it said.
Last year, Qatargas awarded contracts worth more than $3 billion to Saipem related to the giant LNG expansion projects.
The company and its parent QatarEnergy are working on both the North Field East and the North Field South projects.
Together, NFE and NFS form the wider North Field Expansion project to increase LNG production from the North Field, adding about 48 mtpa to Qatar’s export capacity and bringing it to 126 mtpa by 2028.