The project
The Kashagan field, located in the North Caspian Sea (Kazakhstan), is one of the largest oil fields discovered in the past 30 years. The development of this complex project was a major challenge due to the need to operate in very shallow waters, from 4 m in Kashagan East to 0 m near the shore. Saipem performed any kind of engineering or construction activity, such as fabrications, inshore hook-ups, transportation, offshore installation and hook-ups, and commissioning of both Complex ‘D’ and Island ‘A’.
An extraordinary project
The ultra-shallow water depth, combined with extreme environmental conditions, the severe environmental requirements, and access limitations to the Caspian Sea led Saipem to develop unique innovative solutions. In particular, Saipem built a fleet of dedicated vessels for pipelaying and post-trenching, including the Castoro 12 pipelay barge, the Saipem TRB trenching barge, the ancillary TRB Tenders, and the Castoro 16 post trenching and backfilling barge. The EPCI contract for the pipeline system was carried out in an isolated area, characterized by a very shallow and smooth profile, soil freezing, and major attention was given to environmental conservation. The trunklines and production flowlines project mainly consisted of laying 3 offshore trunklines of about 60 km long, in addition to onshore pipelines of about 30 km long. Flowlines, umbilicals, power and fiber optic cables were also laid. With this project, Saipem established the industry record for the longest pipeline shore pull in floating conditions of 10 km for two 28-inch lines and one 18-inch line.
