Belayim Petroleum Company (Petrobel) signed a $900-million contract with Saipem to execute the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) activities for the Zohr field’s optimized-ramp-up phase, Egypt Oil & Gas reported.

The contract—signed July 27th—obligates Saipem to commence operations at once and to complete the project by the end of 2018. According to the terms of the contract, the company will install a 30-inch diameter gas export pipeline as well as an 8-inch diameter service pipeline. It will further conduct EPCI work for the development of four of Zohr’s deep-water wells.

The company will also install umbilicals and will utilize several vessels from its fleet, including the Castorone; the Saipem FDS2, a subsea field-development ship; the Saipem 3000; the Castoro 6; and the trenching barge, Castoro 10.

“We are pleased that our activities in the development of the Zohr field are in line with the challenging schedule set by the [c]lient,” Saipem’s CEO, Stefano Cao, said, adding that “in the execution of this further phase of the development, we will deploy our most technologically advanced vessels and leverage our proven abilities and skills so that the achievement of the [c]lient’s requirements is ensured. This acquisition confirms and consolidates our presence in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and is yet another milestone for Saipem in the SURF (subsea, umbilicals, risers, flowlines) segment of Offshore E&C projects.”

Saipem is an international firm that specializes in the drilling, engineering, procurement, construction, and installation of pipelines for onshore and offshore projects.