[2] The history of Saipem is deeply connected to Enrico Mattei's management era of Eni during the years of the Italian economic miracle.

In the early 1950s Mattei had reorganized the Italian oil industry through a complex system of outright acquisitions and government investments, in order to guarantee Italy's self-reliance in energy.

In 1957 drilling company Saip, a subsidiary of Agip (Eni's fuel retailer), was merged with Snam Montaggi to create Saipem.

[4] Saipem was a pioneer in offshore drilling and pipelines construction in Europe; in 1959 it started drilling oil off the coast of Gela,[5] in Sicily and in the early 1960s initiated the Central European Line pipeline, running from the port of Genoa to West Germany, where Eni Deutschland subsidiary was building refineries in Ingolstadt.

[9] In 1988, a joint venture between Saipem and Brown & Root was formed, known as European Marine Contractors, that realized two major projects: Zeepipe, completed in 1993, a 1,416 km natural gas transportation system to transport North Sea natural gas to the receiving terminal at Zeebrugge in Belgium; and a 707 km trunkline connecting Hong Kong with Yancheng 13-1 gasfield, located in the Yinggehai Basin, completed in 1994.

[12] In 2006 Saipem merged with Snamprogetti, a subsidiary of Eni specializing in the design and execution of large scale offshore projects for the production and transportation of hydrocarbons.

In 2006, Saipem completed the sealines of the Dolphin Gas Project, connecting Qatar's North Field to the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

[18][19] In May 2024, Saipem secured three new contracts worth $3.7 billion from TotalEnergies EP Angola Block 20 for the Kaminho deepwater project to develop Cameia and Golfinho oil fields.

[20] In 2010, Saipem agreed to pay a penalty of US$30 million to settle a Nigerian investigation into a bribery case involving the construction of Nigeria LNG facilities.

[22] In September 2018, an Italian court found Saipem and former CEO Pietro Tali, guilty of corruption over bribes in Algeria.

Furthermore, in line with the recommendations for large companies established by the Code of Corporate Governance, to which Saipem complies, at least half the Directors (6 out of 9) are independent: Elisabetta Serafin, Roberto Diacetti, Patrizia Michela Giangualano, Mariano Mossa, Francesca Mariotti and Paul Simon Schapira.