Saipem and Subsea7 will have to divest the pipelay and heavy-lift vessel Seven Borealis under conditions imposed by Brazil’s competition authority for approval of their proposed merger to form Saipem7.
The vessel disposal is intended to address concerns over competition in Brazil’s subsea engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) market, particularly for deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil and gas projects.
The 182.2-metre Seven Borealis, built in 2012, is equipped with a 5,000-tonne main crane, a 600-tonne tension S-lay system and a 937-tonne top-tension J-lay system. It also carries two work-class remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), according to Subsea7‘s vessel specification.
The vessel is the only unit combining S-lay and J-lay capabilities among Subsea7‘s four rigid-pipelay vessels classified as global enablers. The other three, Seven Vega, Seven Oceans and Seven Navica, are reel-lay vessels.
Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) approved the proposed combination on 4 November 2026, subject to commitments contained in a merger control agreement.
The agreement includes provisions to protect the execution of existing projects in the companies’ backlog. According to Reuters, it also contains measures intended to enable the vessel’s future buyer to compete for offshore contracts in Brazil.
The decision follows an earlier review that was reopened after Petrobras and the Brazilian Association of Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Companies (ABEP) challenged an unconditional clearance.
In its official announcement, Saipem said the divestment was not expected to materially affect the strategic rationale of the merger and maintained its previously announced synergy expectations.
The Brazilian clearance does not complete the transaction. The European Commission’s in-depth investigation remains suspended, while Australia’s competition authority is conducting a separate Phase 2 review.
Both companies said they remain committed to the proposed combination and will continue working with the relevant authorities to satisfy, or obtain waivers for, the remaining conditions.
