Italy-headquartered contractor Saipem and its compatriot Trevi have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop a design of two drilling systems for large diameter foundation holes for offshore wind farms.
Under the MoU, the companies will work together to develop a design that can cope with the site-specific geotechnical and geophysical data pertaining to the locations to be drilled, to identify the best drilling strategy and consequently the most appropriate technology, said Saipem.
The agreement also covers the possibility of creating such drilling equipment that could then be operated by Saipem, leveraging on Trevi’s expertise on foundations in executing offshore wind farm projects, according to Saipem.
The MoU, which follows the non-binding agreement Saipem signed with Havfram last month to evaluate potential cooperation in the offshore wind business, is “consistent with Saipem’s 2022-25 Strategic Plan, since it aims at strengthening Saipem’s value proposition for the offshore wind, a sizeable market which is expected to grow by over 30 per cent in the Strategic Plan horizon”.
Saipem has been involved in offshore wind construction for a while now, with its latest projects including Neart na Gaoithe and Seagreen offshore wind farms in Scotland, and upcoming work on the Fécamp offshore wind farm in France.
The company is no stranger to the floating wind as well. Last year, Saipem closed an agreement to acquire the floating offshore wind business of France’s Naval Energies.