Saipem — led by chief executive Pietro Franco Tali — hopes to complete the high-specification unit at another yard in Asia.
Sources list Singapore’s Sembawang Shipyard as the frontrunner for the award, though another Singapore yard and a South Korean rig builder are also understood to still be in the running.
Senior Saipem executives held talks with CIMC Raffles in late July, trying to convince the Chinese yard to transfer the remaining fabrication job to Sembawang.
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