Monday, 27 July 2026

Saipem has secured two contracts from Eni with a combined value of USD 910 million, covering subsea work on the Baleine Phase 3 development off Ivory Coast and an expansion of biofuel production capacity at Enilive's Venice biorefinery in Italy, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The offshore scope requires Saipem to engineer, fabricate, transport and install roughly 50 km of rigid pipelines plus associated subsea infrastructure, in water depths reaching 1,300 metres, the outlet reported. Offshore Engineer OEDigital said the work is expected to run about three years and will use the FDS and Shen Da construction vessels.

The award follows the final investment decision taken by Eni and its partners on Baleine Phase 3 in May.

Once complete, the development is expected to lift total field output to around 150,000 barrels of oil per day and 200 million cubic feet of gas per day, with the entire gas volume directed to Ivory Coast's domestic market, according to the same report.

Production will run through a new floating production, storage and offloading vessel supplied by Altera Infrastructure on a 15-year charter, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported. The unit can produce 90,000 barrels of oil per day, process 160 million cubic feet of gas per day and store 1.4 million barrels of crude.

Eni operates Baleine with a 37.25% interest. Vitol holds 30%, Petroci 22.75% and Socar 10%, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The Western Australian government has awarded State Significant Project status to the proposed Browse to North West Shelf Project, giving the Woodside-led Browse Joint Venture priority government support as the offshore gas development moves through approvals, according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital.

The designation sits at the top of the state's Lead Agency Framework, the highest level of prioritization available, Offshore Engineer OEDigital reported. It is intended to coordinate support across government as the project reaches regulatory and development milestones.

Under the plan, gas from the Browse offshore fields would be piped to the existing Karratha Gas Plant for processing. That would extend the operating life of the North West Shelf facilities while supporting domestic gas supply and liquefied natural gas exports.

An independent economic assessment cited by Woodside put lifetime national gross domestic product from the project at around USD 98 billion (AUD 141 billion), according to Offshore Engineer OEDigital. The same assessment estimated approximately USD 39.1 billion (AUD 56 billion) in taxes and royalties, including about USD 13.8 billion (AUD 19.8 billion) in petroleum resource rent tax.

Woodside said the development targets Australia's largest undeveloped offshore gas resource. The company said it has the potential to support thousands of jobs, widen procurement opportunities for Western Australian businesses and deliver long-term economic benefits to communities in the Pilbara and Kimberley regions.

Sir Ian Wood, the industrialist who built a family-owned Aberdeen marine business into the global engineering company Wood Group and helped shape the modern North Sea oil and gas industry, has died at 84, according to World Oil. He died peacefully at his home in Aberdeen on July 26.

By the time he stepped down as chairman in 2012, the company employed more than 42,000 people across over 50 countries and had joined the FTSE 100 Index, World Oil reported.

One of the defining moments of his career came after the 1988 Piper Alpha disaster. Of the 167 workers who lost their lives, 39 were Wood Group employees, according to World Oil.

His influence on the regulatory structure of the UK Continental Shelf came through the independent Wood Review, commissioned by the UK government in 2013. Its recommendations directly resulted in the creation of the North Sea Transition Authority, World Oil reported.

Wood received a knighthood in 1994 for services to the offshore oil and gas industry.

Chevron has won a one-year extension to the initial exploration period on the AREA OFF-1 block offshore Uruguay, according to Offshore Magazine. The extension was granted by ANCAP.

The additional year allows further 3D seismic acquisition and evaluation work to support a future drilling decision, Offshore Magazine reported.

AREA OFF-1 covers 14,557 sq km in Uruguay's Punta del Este Basin, per Offshore Magazine. Chevron operates the license with a 60% interest, with Sintana Energy holding the remaining 40%.

The partners are advancing the 3D seismic program ahead of any commitment to drill, according to Offshore Magazine.