Italian energy services giant Saipem has secured a $260 million offshore drilling contract from Eni's Ivorian subsidiary, paving the way for one of the world's most advanced ultra-deepwater drillships to begin a long-term drilling campaign off the coast of Côte d'Ivoire from early 2027.
The contract, awarded by Eni Côte d'Ivoire Limited, will see the Santorini, a seventh-generation drillship with a 20,000-metric-tonne deck load capacity, deployed for development drilling in the West African country's growing offshore energy sector.
Announcing the award, Saipem said the contract qualifies as a related-party transaction because it was signed with Eni Côte d’Ivoire Limited, which is controlled by Eni S.p.A., but emphasized that it is "an ordinary transaction and carried out at market-equivalent or standard conditions," meaning it falls under regulatory exclusions provided by Italy's Consob rules.
While Eni did not disclose the specific field where the Santorini will operate, the contract comes just months after the company approved the final investment decision for the $4 billion Baleine Phase 3 offshore development, widely regarded as the next major phase of Côte d'Ivoire's flagship oil and gas project.
