Saipem reached an important milestone in the Scarborough Energy Project offshore Australia with the completion of trunkline installation activities with its flagship Castorone.
Once operational, the trunkline will connect the Scarborough gas field, located in the Carnarvon Basin offshore Western Australia, with the corresponding onshore liquefied natural gas production facility Pluto. In around 12 months, Saipem installed 433 km of pipeline and more than 36,000 lengths of pipe at a depth of up to 1,400 meters.
Pre-commissioning activities for the trunkline will now begin, in preparation for the hook up of the subsea infrastructure to the onshore terminal.
This achievement represents an important milestone for an infrastructure that, once complete, is set to help meet demand for the lower carbon and reliable energy the world needs today and into the future. Saipem thus confirms its leadership in the offshore sector and its expertise in supporting clients in the development of complex offshore installations.
The Scarborough Energy Project had been awarded to Saipem in 2022 by Woodside, as operator on behalf of Scarborough Joint Venture, and activities included the laying, transport and coating of the trunkline whose installation began in 2023 deploying Saipem's Castorone.
The Castorone is one of the largest pipelaying vessels in the world and among the safest, most efficient and state-of-the-art in the offshore industry. It has a length of about 330 meters and has a width of 40 meters. It is equipped with a sophisticated dynamic positioning system and ensures navigation and stationing even in adverse weather conditions. It has a tensioning capacity of up to 1,200 tons, is suitable for laying large pipelines and is equipped with state-of-the-art welding systems and two remotely operated subsea vehicles developed by Sonsub, Saipem's center of excellence for underwater technologies, used for construction, maintenance, monitoring and data collection work in ultra-deep waters.