Saipem and Trevi have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate to jointly develop a design of two drilling systems for large diameter foundation holes for offshore wind farms.
Trevi and Saipem will develop a design that can “cope with site specific geotechnical and geophysical data pertaining to the locations to be drilled, to identify the most appropriate drilling strategy and, consequently, the most appropriate technology”.
The agreement also covers the possibility to jointly develop such drilling equipment that should then be operated by Saipem, using on Trevi expertise and knowhow on foundation, in executing wind farm projects
The MoU, which follows the non-binding agreement with Havfram to evaluate a potential cooperation in the offshore wind business, is consistent with Saipem’s 2022-25 Strategic Plan, aimed at “strengthening Saipem’s value proposition for offshore wind”, a sizeable market which is expected to grow by over 30% in the Strategic Plan horizon.
The agreement with Trevi, which carries out special foundation works, will support Saipem’s goal of identifying “new and more profitable ways” of execution also through designing and developing new technical solutions.
Meanwhile, following an incident on 14 April 2022 to Crane n.1 of Saipem 7000, the vessel is back in operation.
On 31 May 2022 the Semi-Submersible Crane Vessel, one of the largest crane vessels in the world, arrived at the Seagreen Wind Farm site in Scotland.
After the incident, the vessel had gone through a first step of necessary repair works and the Crane n. 2 obtained the related certifications, allowing it to operate with a lifting capacity in line with Seagreen project technical requirements and scope of work.
The scope of work of the Saipem 7000 for the Seagreen offshore wind project is the installation of 114 foundation jackets, of which 23 have been installed, with the remaining 91 to be installed from now until year-end 2022.
Crane n. 1 is expected to complete the repair works to allow the vessel to return to its full lifting capacity by early 2023.