Utec wins Egypt offshore gasfield deal

Leading subsea construction company Saipem has awarded a major contract to Utec, a major independent offshore and onshore survey company, to support its operations as part of the Zohr offshore gas field development in Egypt.

A leading global survey company in subsea services group Acteon, Utec said as per the deal it will work with Saipem in performing surface positioning on-board its operated barges, Bautino and Castoro 10, and associated Anchor Handling Vehicles (AHVs).,

It will also provide trenching support, including trench monitoring services and as-trenched surveys utilising Utec’s Teledyne Gavia Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) in water depths ranging from 2.5m to 20m. The contract is expected to last around five months, said the company in a statement.

As the largest global operator of low logistics systems, Utec will bring its experience in 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 cu m of gas in place.

According to Utec, the company has been deploying AUV systems on a range of projects around the world since 2010 and, upon becoming part of the Acteon group, has become the single largest commercial user of the system with seven AUVs in their fleet.

Cory Goodyear, Utec's business unit director, Europe and Africa, said: "The award of this significant contract underlines Utec’s core values of performance and excellence by providing our clients with the ability to achieve more powerful results, while remaining focused on executing these projects safely and in a cost-effective manner."  

“Utec has built up a strong relationship with Saipem utilising 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,” he noted.

Paul Smith, Utec's global director for projects and operations, said: "At a time when our industry is challenging conventional methods of survey, the use of low logistic AUVs is a great example of how our global clients can optimise their offshore operations and reduce costs to projects."

"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," he added.

Source: tradearabia.com