Saipem/BOS Shelf to construct, install Shah Deniz compression platforms and pipelines
bp, on behalf of the Shah Deniz consortium, has awarded the Saipem/BOS Shelf joint venture (JV) three offshore construction contracts for the $2.9 billion Shah Deniz Compression (SDC) project in the Caspian Sea.
The combined value of the awards is about $700 million.
The joint venture will be responsible for:
- Transportation and installation of the new 19,000-mt SDC compression platform; and
- Engineering, procurement, construction and installation of subsea structures, including about 26 km of offshore pipelines, which will connect the SDC platform with the existing Shah Deniz offshore infrastructure.
All onshore fabrication will take place at BOS Shelf’s Baku deepwater jacket factory.
For the offshore construction and installation, the JV will deploy the Khankendi subsea construction vessel, owned by the Shah Deniz consortium, and the Israfil Huseynov pipelay barge, owned by the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping company.
Saipem will operate both vessels. Offshore activities are set to start in third-quarter 2026 with pin pile installation, and completion is targeted for 2029.
BOS Shelf LLC and BOS Shelf International FZCO, which will support the program, are both affiliates of Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR. Saipem said its share of the awarded contracts is about $600 million.
All will be executed under a framework agreement announced in July 2024.
According to bp, the SDC project will produce low-pressure gas reserves in the Shah Deniz Field to maximize recovery. The new electrically powered unmanned compression platform, or normally unattended installation, will be installed in 85 m of water, roughly 3 km from the Shah Deniz Bravo (SDB) platform.
The SDC platform, with four 11-MW compressors onboard, will host gas compression from both the Shah Deniz Alpha (SDA) and SDB platforms, with production then sent to the onshore Sangachal terminal.
Various associated facilities will also be installed offshore in the Shah Deniz contract area, along with brownfield works activity at SDA, SDB and Sangachal.
bp expects to receive first gas for compression from the SDA platform in 2029 and from the SDB platform in 2030.