Saipem cuts first steel for Neptun Deep jacket in Sardinia

Saipem started construction of the steel jacket Oct. 2 for the Neptun Alpha gas platform for the Neptun Deep project in the Romanian sector of the Black Sea.

The work is taking place at the company’s yard in Arbatax, Sardinia. The completed jacket will be about 140 m tall, with a 40-sq-m base, and will weigh more than 7,000 t.

Fabrication of the topsides started earlier this year at the Saipem yard in Karimun, Indonesia.

Cristian Hubati, head of exploration and production at project operator OMV Petrom, said the platform should be installed in 2026 in a water depth of close to 100 m.

Following hookup, commissioning and integration of the subsea production systems and pipelines, first gas should be delivered in 2027.

Aside from the ongoing steel construction developments, OMV Petrom said work is being done on multiple directions, from permitting and contracting to fabrication and drilling.

Neptun Alpha is part of the infrastructure that will produce the offshore Domino and Pelican South gas fields. These will be developed via 10 wells, three subsea production systems and associated flowlines, with production sent through a 160-km pipeline to the Tuzla natural gas metering station onshore in Romania.

OMV Petrom and Romgaz Black Sea are 50:50 partners in the development, which has an estimated cost of up to EUR4 billion (US$4.3 billion).

Norwegian Electric Systems (NES) has been contracted by Green Yard Kleven to develop and deliver the complete energy design, an integrated automation system and its future-oriented bridge system for a field support vessel the Norwegian shipyard is constructing for OMV Petrom.

For the same project, OMV Petrom has commissioned Green Yard Kleven in Ulsteinvik, Norway, to construct an 89.5-m-long multi-hull field support vessel with a walk-to-work gangway, offshore crane and accommodation for 90 personnel.

Norwegian Electric Systems (NES) will supply frequency converters and electric motors for the propulsion system, battery system, transformers and a Quadro Master DC power distribution switchboard that will enable use of variable-speed generators.

NES will also deliver the integrated automation system and a Raven INS navigation system, with a CBT notation (closed bus tie). The latter is said to allow integration of DP power systems and a reduction in the number of generator sets needed to run simultaneously.

The company said this leads to optimized power-sharing, lower fuel consumption and reduced emissions, fewer engine running hours, and lowered maintenance costs. In addition, a system with active and reactive power-sharing across bus ties is said to mitigate and reduce the consequences of certain failure modes.

Final deliveries and commissioning will occur during second-quarter 2026, with the completed ship itself due to be delivered later that year.