Italian Company To Construct Sea Lines in UAE

Saudi Arabian company Dolphin Energy Limited named on Saturday Italian company Saipem as the successful bidder for the engineering, procurement, and construction of sea lines offshore Qatar for more than $115 million.
The sea lines - two 36-inch diameter concrete pipes ? will transport Dolphin?s natural gas and hydrocarbons liquids from two offshore platforms in Qatar?s giant North Field to the company?s processing plant in the emirate?s Ras LAffan industrial city.
Saipem was also recently awarded the tender to engineering, procurement, and construction for Dolphin?s main export pipeline which will transport dry gas from Ras Laffan to Dolphin?s facilities at Taweelah in the United Arab Emirates.
The line pipe for both the sea lines and the export pipe line will be supplied by Japan?s Mitsui and Company Limited under a 2003 agreement. Dolphin is building a multi-billion-dollar regional network to export gas via a submerged pipeline from Qatar, which has the world?s third largest gas reserves, to Abu Dhabi, and then on to Dubai and Oman.
The project is expected to come on line in 2006.
The Abu Dhabi-owned Offset Group has a 51 per cent share in Dolphin, with France?s Total and Occidental Petroleum of the United States each holding a 24.5 per cent stake.