Saipem CEO Sees No Volkswagen Risk over Fleet Standards

The fleet Italian oil contractor Saipem uses to carry out its offshore construction and drilling business has been properly certified and there is no risk of any Volkswagen-like scandal, the CEO said on Tuesday.

 

Italy's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, the country's second-biggest party, claims that Saipem had not adopted proper practices when certifying its fleet, with an impact on safety and, indirectly, on the value of the fleet itself.

 

"Is there a Volkswagen case at Saipem? No," Stefano Cao said in a parliamentary hearing.

 

Cao, who returned to Saipem earlier this year as CEO to turn the troubled contractor round, was replying to a question by Vito Petruccelli, a member of the 5-Star Movement.

 

The party has said improper certification could add more than 8 billion euros ($8.51 billion) to the company's debt.

 

Germany's Volkswagen is embroiled in a scandal that could cost it an estimated 7.7 billion euros at least after it admitted to cheating car-emission tests.

 

Saipem, which is 43 percent owned by oil major Eni, operates in some 60 countries with 40 offshore construction vessels and 17 offshore drilling vessels.

 

Eni recently agreed to sell a 12.5 percent stake in Saipem to state-owned investment fund FSI and create a shareholder pact with the fund to control the contractor.

 

Contacted by Reuters, Petruccelli said Saipem was also helped by its relationship with Eni.

 

"Saipem works with Eni on some contracts and that has allowed it to use standards for its vessels that would not have been possible with other companies," he said.

 

($1 = 0.9397 euros)

(Reporting by Stephen Jewkes; editing by Susan Thomas)