Letter of intent and early worksOil and gas
Saipem receives approximately $150 million Longtail early-work authorisation
The wider Guyana subsea EPCI package remains conditional on approvals and the partners' final investment decision.
- Event
- First published on EPC Feed
- Sources
- 1 listed below
- Reading time
- 2 min
Saipem received a limited notice to proceed worth around $150 million from ExxonMobil Guyana Limited for the Longtail project, the contractor announced on 21 April 2026. The development is located in Guyana's Stabroek Block at a water depth of approximately 1,750 metres. The immediate authorisation covers preliminary detailed engineering and procurement, rather than unconditional execution of all construction and offshore installation activities associated with the future subsea package.
The proposed wider scope concerns engineering, procurement, construction and installation of subsea structures, umbilicals, risers and flowlines. Saipem says the main EPCI activities depend on necessary governmental and regulatory approvals and a final investment decision by ExxonMobil Guyana and its Stabroek co-venturers. The announcement therefore contains a clear contractual-stage distinction: early work is authorised, while the main package remains subject to decisions and approvals identified in the source.
If approved, the full contract is expected to last around four years, with an estimated overall value between $750 million and $1.5 billion. This range describes the conditional full package. It should not be added mechanically to the $150 million preliminary authorisation as though the release disclosed two unrelated contracts, nor should its upper end be reported as a confirmed final price. The release uses both an early-work amount and a broader estimated range for different stages of the contemplated commitment.
Saipem also outlines its existing experience in the Stabroek Block. The company says it has worked for ExxonMobil Guyana under seven offshore development contracts and identifies Liza Phase 1, Liza Phase 2, Payara and Yellowtail as four already completed assignments. That history supplies context for the new authorisation. It does not establish that Longtail itself has reached the same construction or operating stage as those earlier projects.
The April event is consequently best tracked as a limited preliminary-work milestone. It permits defined engineering and purchasing activity while preserving the conditional nature of the main EPCI scope. Later confirmation of investment approval, regulatory clearance or activation of the full construction and installation package would constitute separate developments. Recording the distinction gives readers a more accurate view of committed work than a headline that treats the maximum estimated full-project range as an unconditional award already ready for offshore execution.
Sources
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