The project
Zohr is the largest offshore natural gas ever discovered in the Mediterranean region or any part of Egyptian territory. Saipem played a central role through the whole Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation process.
The project team oversaw the development of all phases of the project, from basic design to the installation of all necessary subsea pipelines transporting gas to ground handling facilities in Port Said. Zohr is large enough to supply all of Egypt’s natural gas requirements, and nearly two-thirds of its total energy needs for decades and to transform the country from a net energy importer to a net exporter and regional energy hub.
Saipem’s integrated approach to this project enabled the production of the first gas just over two years from initial discovery: a record for this type of deposit.
An extraordinary project
From a strictly engineering perspective, Zohr’s uniqueness undoubtedly lies in the completion times, which have always been especially rapid, starting from the first stage: the time window from the start of works to the initial production is unrivalled in the history of the Oil & Gas industry.
The Zohr project, with planning and development from Saipem, stands to emerge as a new industry benchmark.
Zohr has seen the largest deployment of vessels and equipment ever made by Saipem: Saipem 10000 drillship, Castorone pipe-laying ship; Saipem 7000 semi-submersible crane vessel, Saipem FDS pipe-laying ship, Saipem FDS2 crane vessel, Castoro Sei pipe-laying crane vessel, Castoro 10 pipe-laying ship, Normand Maximus offshore support vessel, and Far Samson offshore support vessel. In addition to the offshore personnel on the various vessels, the Paris, Fano, Cyprus (Limassol, Larnaca), Egypt (Damietta, Port-Said, Abu Kir), and Arbatax offices were also involved.
