UTEC, a global survey company, has won a five-month contract from subsea construction company Saipem to support the Zohr Field development project in the Mediterranean, according to a news release.

Working with Saipem, UTEC will perform surface positioning onboard the Saipem-operated Bautino and Castoro 10 barges and associated anchor-handling vehicles. The company said it will also provide trenching support, including trench monitoring services and as-trenched surveys utilizing its Teledyne Gavia AUVs in water depths of up to 20 m (66 ft).

“The use of low logistic AUVs is a great example of how our global clients can optimize their offshore operations and reduce costs to projects,” Paul Smith, global director of projects and operations for UTEC, said in the release. “By deploying AUVs from vessels already in field, Saipem has been able to eliminate the requirement for a dedicated survey vessel to support this phase of the project.”

The Eni-operated Zohr Field offshore Egypt is estimated to have about 850 Bcm (30 Tcf) of gas in place.

Offshore