# Saipem wins approximately $121 million in Cyprus and Ghana drilling contracts

> Eni subsidiaries selected Saipem 10000 and Scarabeo 9 for two separate offshore drilling assignments.

- Topic: Contract award
- Event date: 2026-10-27
- First published on EPC Feed: 2026-10-28T15:40:11.945Z
- Updated: 2026-10-28T15:40:11.945Z
- Companies: Saipem
- Countries: Cyprus, Ghana
- Page: https://epcfeed.com/news/saipem-eni-cyprus-ghana-drilling-contracts-121-million


Saipem announced two offshore drilling contracts with a combined value of approximately $121 million on 27 October 2026. The awards concern separate assignments for Eni subsidiaries in Cyprus and Ghana. The company presents the contracts as additional support for fleet utilisation across 2026 and 2027. The announced amount is an aggregate for both contracts; the release does not divide that value between the two countries or between the individual drilling units.

The Cyprus award comes from Eni Cyprus Limited and concerns work within the Republic of Cyprus's Exclusive Economic Zone. Saipem 10000, a drillship, will perform the assignment. The company expects operations to begin between November 2026 and January 2027. That is a commencement window spanning two calendar years, rather than a fixed start date, and the announcement does not state that the campaign was already under way when the award was disclosed.

The second contract was awarded by Eni Ghana Exploration & Production Limited. It assigns the Scarabeo 9 semi-submersible rig to offshore drilling activities in Ghana. Saipem identifies the customer, country and drilling unit, but does not give a matching commencement window for the Ghana campaign in the release. The two assignments should therefore be tracked separately even though their commercial value was announced together in the same company statement.

The distinction between the units also matters for interpreting the award. The Cyprus contract names a drillship and the Ghana contract a semi-submersible rig; the announcement is about deployment of existing drilling assets rather than construction of two new platforms. It does not disclose a field-development EPC package, a new production facility, or an individual well count. Those project details remain outside the scope of the published award announcement and cannot be inferred from its combined value.

For the contractor, the immediate reported benefit is clearer visibility over the use of its drilling fleet during the stated period. For project tracking, the next identifiable milestone in the source is the expected Cyprus start window. The Ghana assignment remains a separately identified contract with its own customer and rig. Recording the award on its announcement date preserves the difference between contract signing, future mobilisation and any later drilling or production results that the operator may report.

## Sources

1. [Saipem: new offshore drilling contracts worth approximately USD 121 million](https://www.saipem.com/en/media/press-releases/2026-10-27/saipem-new-offshore-drilling-contracts-worth-approximately-usd-121). Company release, Saipem, Published 2026-10-27, Read 2026-10-28.