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Saipem about to start Namibia drilling project for Galp, CEO says

Saipem will start work on deep water drilling in Namibia for Portugal's Galp Energia, the president of the Italian energy specialist said on Thursday.

In early 2024 Galp performed tests at its Mopane-1X and Mopane-2X wells and estimated in April that the Mopane field could hold at least 10 billion barrels of oil following an initially phase of exploration.

The find at Mopane appears to be among the largest made in the Orange Basin following effective expedition projects by TotalEnergies and Shell in recent years.

The agreement granted by Galp to drill a deep-water well is the very first in Namibia for the Italian group, which currently serves energy groups in neighbouring Angola.

For the very first time we will work offshore Namibia ... we will be serving Galp, which wishes to do expedition works, by utilizing our drilling ship Santorini, Saipem CEO Alessandro Puliti said.

The project is anticipated to start in a few days and last around three months, Puliti added, speaking at a press instruction after the release of third-quarter results.

Saipem will present an updated service plan next February, he said, sounding positive on the prospects for the energy services market.

Late on Wednesday the Italian group reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, devaluation and amortisation ( EBITDA) of 340 million euros ($ 367.17 million) in between July and September, above an expert agreement of 323 million euros put together by LSEG.

On the back of this performance, Saipem modified up its 2024 guidance and verified its intents to resume dividend payments next year after a four-year stop.

Shares in Saipem were up nearly 5% in early afternoon trading in Milan, lifted by the improvement of its full-year assistance.

(source: Reuters)