McDermott International, Ltd. has secured a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract from Repsol Exploración México S.A. for the Polok and Chinwol field development project in the Gulf of Mexico.
Under the contract scope, McDermott will provide comprehensive FEED services for the project’s engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) of subsea, umbilicals, risers, and flowlines (SURF), the company said in a news release.
“Our extensive experience in subsea engineering and in-house EPCI capabilities uniquely position us to deliver innovative and efficient FEED solutions for Repsol’s development of the Polok and Chinwol fields,” Mahesh Swaminathan, McDermott’s Senior Vice President of Subsea and Floating Facilities, said. “We look forward to advancing this project with a strong focus on cost-effectiveness, safety, efficiency and quality delivery”.
Recently, McDermott was also awarded an engineering, procurement, removal and disposal (EPRD) contract by Santos for the decommissioning of the Harriet Alpha platform and associated infrastructure, located offshore Western Australia.
The contract follows the company’s successful execution of the Campbell decommissioning project for Santos in Australia, it said. McDermott considered the contract as “large,” which it defined as having a value between $50 million and $250 million.
McDermott will provide EPRD services, including engineering, procurement and fabrication of specialized equipment, as well as the removal and transportation of the platform structure to an onshore facility for dismantling and disposal. The contract scope also includes the removal, transportation and disposal of a flare tower, exploration well and subsea development system comprising two subsea template wells.
Part of the Harriet Joint Venture (HJV) assets, the Harriet Alpha platform is one of the largest facilities slated for decommissioning, according to an earlier news release.
“This is our largest decommissioning project to date, reflecting our continued commitment to delivering bespoke solutions for the timely, safe, and environmentally responsible removal of infrastructure at the end of its operational life cycle,” Swaminathan said. “McDermott’s growing decommissioning portfolio in Australia also underscores the commitment we share to continue supporting circularity efforts in a lower carbon economy”.
Project management and engineering for the decommissioning project will be executed by McDermott’s team in Perth, Australia, with support from Batam, Indonesia and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the company stated.
Clean Ammonia Project
On the energy transition front, energy development firm Clean Hydrogen Works (CHW) selected McDermott for the FEED contract of the Ascension Clean Energy (ACE) Project. The project is jointly developed by CHW with strategic shareholders ExxonMobil, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, and Hafnia.
Located in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, the ACE Project will initially produce 2.4 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of clean ammonia, with expansion in subsequent phases to 7.2 mtpa, according to a separate statement.
Under the contract scope, McDermott will provide FEED, plus engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) estimating and execution planning services under an engineering services agreement. The work will be led from McDermott’s Houston office with support from its Gurugram, India office.
With carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) contracts with ExxonMobil, regulatory approvals expected by early 2025, off-take in advanced discussions and Goldman Sachs as Financial Advisor, the ACE Project is expected to reach a final investment decision (FID) by late 2025 and start production in 2029, according to the statement.
Johnny Cook, CHW Senior Vice President of Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) said, “We are thrilled to partner with McDermott, a company renowned for its extensive experience in mega module construction, demonstrated by a remarkable track record of on-time, on-budget execution of major energy and chemicals projects. This collaboration further strengthens key competitive advantages of our project, including being a mega module capable site with ready infrastructure access to gas, shipping and CCS, an unmatched shareholder base with expertise in CCS and maritime transport, and an experienced team with demonstrated success in executing mega module projects”.
“This FEED award is testament to McDermott’s industry-leading mega-module delivery and installation expertise, and the breadth of our capabilities across the energy transition,” Rob Shaul, McDermott’s Senior Vice President for Low Carbon Solutions, said. “Our integrated delivery model, with self-perform construction capabilities and portfolio of McDermott-owned, globally diversified, module fabrication yards means we can offer CHW a repeatable modular implementation solution that is expected to maximize value, reduce risk and provide quality assurance”.
