Italian oilfield services firm Saipem and national research institute to collaborate on geothermal research
Scarabeo oil platform (source: Saipem)
Alexander Richter
24 Nov 2020
Italian major oil service company Saipem and Italian National Institute of Geoscience and Volcanology sign collaboration agreement for studies and researches on geothermal energy.
As announced in a release today, Saipem and the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy have signed a non-onerous collaboration agreement to carry out studies and researches on geothermal energy.
Saipem S.p.A. is an Italian multinational oilfield services company and one of the largest in the world. Until 2016 it was a subsidiary of Italian oil and gas supermajor Eni. The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology is a research institute for geophysics and volcanology in Italy. INGV is funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research.
In the context of this scientific-industrial agreement INGV will make available its expertise in the analysis and the evaluation of geothermal resources, while Saipem will provide its expertise as a global solution provider in the engineering and construction of energy plants and in onshore and offshore drilling, including HPHT (High Pressure High Temperature) wells.
Specifically, Saipem will carry out feasibility studies to build geothermal plants, evaluating applicable technological solutions and playing a coordination role in the verification of the industrial feasibility, while INGV, a public research institute will only carry out studies and estimates on geothermal energy, researches which will be shared between the scientific community and the civil society.
Geothermal resources are abundant in the Mediterranean, especially in Italy, but they have been used only to a marginal extent so far, despite their great potential. The identification of energetic solutions for their use on a large scale can give an important contribution to the global energy transition process and to the evolution towards new more and more integrated and sustainable production methods.
Marco Toninelli, Chief Operating Officer Offshore Drilling, commented: “The collaboration with an excellency of the Italian scientific research like INGV in a sector of great potential like geothermal energy is full part of Saipem strategy to focus on energy transition and diversification. It is an important common ground for research and industry which in the future will lead to the identification of sustainable solutions for the use of geothermal resources. The coordination role of the Offshore Drilling Division is the recognition for the great experience gained and confirms Saipem’s commitment to the energy transition in all its business segments, including drilling.”
Source: Saipem company release
