Eni, Saipem sign MOU for use of renewable diesel in drilling, construction vessels

Photo: Saipem

Eni Sustainable Mobility and Saipem have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the aim of employing hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), also referred to as renewable diesel, on Saipem’s drilling and construction naval vessels—with particular attention to operations in the Mediterranean Sea.

Saipem has a global fleet consisting of 45 vessels for construction and drilling.

The MOU represents an important milestone for Eni and Saipem, confirming the mutual commitment to diversifying energy sources and to reducing the carbon footprint across offshore operations.

Eni has been producing HVO since 2014, thanks to the conversion of the Venice and Gela refineries in Italy into biorefineries, which have not used palm oil since the end of 2022.

Through the proprietary Ecofining™ technology, vegetable raw materials or animal waste are processed into HVO.

Biofuels are one of the pillars of Eni’s strategic plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, through a decarbonization process that aims to reduce emissions from industrial processes and products.

This agreement forms part of the execution of Saipem’s strategy for the reduction of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions, together with the other initiatives and investments envisaged in the group’s strategic plan, which encompasses the reduction of its scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by 2035 and the achievement of net zero (including scope 3) by 2050.

This agreement will leverage the experience and expertise of both partners.

Eni Sustainable Mobility, among the first producers of HVO in Europe, brings its global expertise in providing solutions to reduce carbon emissions.

Saipem, through its commitment to the energy transition, aims to increase the use of alternative fuels on its vessels to immediately reduce its own emissions and those of its clients.

Thanks to the use of HVO, Saipem will potentially be able to reduce emissions by around 550,000 metric tons of CO2-equivelent per year, equal to 60 percent of its total annual scope 1 emissions.