Saipem will open a spool base at Greenwood Island, in Pascagoula, Mississippi, a highly specialized shipyard to provide support to vessels that carry out pipelines for offshore oil and gas development.

Saipem’s new spoolbase will support, in particular, Constellation’s projects in the Gulf of Mexico, the latest entry in the Saipem fleet and suitable for the construction of rigid and flexible pipes in deep water and for lifting up to 3000 tons.

Under a long-term agreement, the spoolbase will be built in a dedicated area within the structure of ST Engineering Halter Marine & Offshore, Inc., an international company based in Singapore with a strong presence in the United States.

The spoolbase will be equipped with state-of-the-art welding machines, non-destructive testing structures (NDT) and systems for coating joints in offshore fields (FJC-Field Joint Coating). It will also be able to cope with complex projects such as those requiring pipe-in-pipe and high-density polyethylene liners.

Thanks to Saipem Constellation’s distinctive ability to lift on-board reels at full load, the stalking process (joining of single pipes in long joints) and spooling (the winding of the fittings on the reels) in the new spoolbase can be separated from the loading operations of the ship, thus optimizing the loading and unloading times of the ship and the installation program.

“The spoolbase contributes to Saipem’s growth in the development of deep-water fields and consolidates the importance of our activities in the Gulf of Mexico through a local approach and local resources,” said Giorgio Martelli, President and CEO of Saipem America Inc.

“We are pleased to work with Saipem America on this exciting project within our facility in Pascagoula. Saipem’s spool base operations complete our regular upgrade activities in ship drilling and 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.

Source: https://www.saipem.com
Image credit: Saipem