Industry sources said the Spanish-Italian combination currently has the edge over a rival bid from Rosetti Marino and Seaway Heavy Lifting, which have teamed up for the job.
The Rosetti-Seaway group is still thought to be in discussions with Total, but sees the project slipping away.
According to a source, one of the reasons the French operator may prefer the Dragados-Saipem offer is because it feels “more comfortable” with using a semi-submersible crane vessel for the deck lifting operation than deploying a monohull.
Sources
