Saipem’s NnG Contract Brings Scottish Manufacturing Site to Life

Saipem has selected Harland & Wolff to carry out the fabrication and load-out of eight jacket foundations for the Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) offshore wind project in the UK.

With work starting from 1 July, Harland & Wolff will use its newly acquired Methil facilities in Fife for the fabrication work, creating around 290 direct and indirect Scottish jobs.

Additional support may be provided as required by the company’s other facilities in Arnish, Appledore and Belfast with Saipem’s consent and in case of need.

To remind, BiFab, the previous owner of the Methil facilities, officially went into administration in December last year after the deal for jacket foundation work for NnG fell through a month earlier.

“This contract paves the way for the execution and delivery of future fabrication contracts, a significant number of which are currently in advanced negotiations. The geographical proximity of our Methil facility to the North Sea makes it an ideal site for fabrication and load-out to wind farm projects such as this,” said John Wood, CEO of InfraStrata, which owns Harland & Wolff.

“I am confident that this is only the beginning of a stream of projects in our pipeline that we expect come to fruition. We are hugely excited about the massive potential that this first contract has unlocked, and we look forward to working with Saipem to successfully deliver under it.”

Saipem’s scope of work at NnG includes the EPCI of 54 jacket foundations, two steel foundation jackets for the offshore electrical substations, and the transportation and installation of the relevant topsides.

The jackets will be manufactured partly at a Saipem-owned yard and partly in fabrication facilities located in Scotland. Offshore installation activities will be carried out by the crane vessel Saipem 7000.

Neart na Gaoithe will comprise 54 Siemens Gamesa 8 MW turbines located some 15 km off the Fife coast. The 450 MW project entered the offshore construction phase in August 2020, while commissioning is scheduled for 2023.