Eni S.p.A E, an Italian integrated company, has awarded an offshore drilling contract to Saipem S.p.A SAPMF for a drilling campaign offshore Cote d'Ivoire. For this contract, Saipem will deploy the Santorini drillship, which the company acquired in December 2022. The contract is valued at approximately $260 million. SAPMF noted that the award from Eni is for a long-term offshore development project.
Saipem has stated that the Santorini drillship is slated to begin operations in early 2027 under a firm work commitment. The contract also provides opportunities for additional work through optional periods and the potential deployment of the drillship in neighboring countries. If these options are exercised, the drillship will remain employed for a longer duration, enhancing rig utilization. These options also improve the company’s long-term revenue visibility.
Eni has been operating in Cote d'Ivoire since 2015. Previously this year, E made a significant discovery off the coast of the West African nation, named Calao South, using the Santorini drillship.
The contract award reinforces Saipem’s market position in the competitive offshore drilling segment. The award also highlights the company’s ability to effectively utilize its high-specification drillships to support the exploration and development activities of its clients. Notably, the Santorini drillship is a seventh-generation drillship that has the capacity to operate at water depths up to 12,000 feet.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
E currently has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) while SAPMF carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks from the energy sector are Par Pacific Holdings PARR and Valero Energy VLO. While Par Pacific sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Valero Energy carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.
Par Pacific Holdings operates an integrated downstream energy business across the United States, with fuel retail operations in Hawaii, Washington and Idaho, refining operations in Hawaii, Wyoming, Washington and Montana, and a supporting logistics network. Its refineries have a combined crude oil throughput capacity of 219,000 barrels per day and produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, marine fuels, asphalt and other petroleum products.
Valero Energy is a leading refining player with a robust network of 14 refineries and a combined high-complexity throughput capacity of 3 million barrels per day, which distinguishes it from other independent refiners. Valero’s refineries have a combined Nelson Complexity Index of 11.5, which implies that they can process a wide variety of feedstocks, convert them into higher-value products and shift product yields according to market conditions.
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Eni SpA (E): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).