Saipem has scooped up three new offshore drilling contracts in West Africa and Egypt worth around $830 million.

The contracts are for the charter of Saipem’s Scarabeo 7, Scarabeo 3 and Scarabeo 6 drilling rigs.
The first contract, from Eni, will use Saipem’s Scarabeo 7 off the coasts of West Africa for 3 years, with work starting in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Scarabeo 7 is a fourth-generation semi-submersible rig capable of operating in water depths of up to 1500 metres and drilling to depths of up to 8500 metres.
The second contract, from Addax Petroleum, extends its charter of Saipem’s semi-submersible Scarabeo 3 rig for use off the coast of Nigeria, for a period of two years.
Scarabeo 3 is a second-generation semi-submersible rig capable of operating in water depths of up to 500 metres and drilling to depths of up to 8000 metres.
The third contract, from Burullus Gas Company, is for the extension of its charter of Saipem’s semi-submersible Scarabeo 6 rig, for use in Egyptian waters for one year.
This contract will begin in the first quarter of 2010.
Scarabeo 6 is a third-generation semi-submersible rig capable of operating in water depths of up to 780 metres and drilling to depths of up to 7500 metres.

(Upstream Online)