Saipem to Establish US Spool-base

Saipem announced on Monday it will establish a "highly specialized" spool-base on Greenwood Island, Pascagoula, Miss. designed to provide support for vessels performing pipelay activities for offshore oil and gas development projects in the Gulf of Mexico.

The new spool-base will support the Saipem Constellation, the latest addition to the Saipem fleet, suitable for the installation of rigid and flexible pipes in ultra deep waters as well as for heavy lifts of up to 3,000 tons, the company said.

Under a Long Term Agreement, the Saipem spool-base is in a dedicated area within the facilities of ST Engineering Halter Marine & Offshore, Inc.

The site will be equipped with advanced welding machines, non-destructive testing (NDT) facilities and field joint coating systems (FJC) and will also be structured to deal with complex projects such as pipe-in-pipe and HDPE liners, Saipem said.

Leveraging the unique ability of the Saipem Constellation to lift fully loaded reels on-board, the stalking and spooling process at the new spool-base can be decoupled from vessel loading operations, thus optimizing vessel and installation schedules, Saipem said.

“The spool-base supports Saipem’s growth in the deep water field development sector as well as consolidating the importance of our activities in the Gulf of Mexico area, with a locally-based approach and resident assets,” said Giorgio Martelli, President and CEO of Saipem America Inc.

“We are pleased to be working with Saipem America on this exciting development within our facility in Pascagoula. Saipem’s spool-base operations complement our regular activities of drill rig upgrades and ship repairs. This collaboration will leverage the capabilities of both parties to provide high standards of support to our customers operating in the Gulf of Mexico,” said Lim Nian Hua, President and CEO of ST Engineering Halter Marine & Offshore.