West Qurna 1, discovered in 1973, is a large onshore oil field located in southern Iraq, approximately 50 km northwest of Basra. Operated by PetroChina, the field is considered one of the world’s largest Oil & Gas assets, with estimated recoverable reserves of more than 20 billion barrels. The project involves the development and production of crude oil through wells, treatment facilities and gathering infrastructure, with the objective of sustaining and increasing Iraq’s oil production while enhancing the value of the country’s energy resources.

FlatFish is a hybrid, fully autonomous underwater inspection drone developed by Saipem to perform autonomous inspections of subsea infrastructure. Designed to operate at depths of up to 3,000 metres, it carries out inspection activities on pipelines, subsea structures and other underwater assets, contributing to safer and more efficient offshore operations. Following the successful completion of functional tests at Saipem’s testing facility in Trieste, Italy, the project has entered its final phase, with FlatFish scheduled for deployment in Petrobras’ ultra-deepwater offshore operations in Brazil.

The project aims to replace the temporary Let Down Station, installed in 2015, with permanent pressure reduction facilities at the expansion area of GS. This upgrade is intended to transport gas to the local market and supply the existing Sirte Oil Company (SOC) coastal gas pipeline with an increased capacity of 19.5 MSm3/d of sales gas at a higher pressure of 51 Bar.