McDermott puts newbuild DLV 2000 to work

Engineering and construction firm McDermott International has announced a string of new contracts offshore Australia and a few frame agreement focused on subsea projects offshore India.

The frame frame agreement is with L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE), a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro, covers subsea projects off the east coast of India, where the companies recently won an engineering, procurement, commissioning and installation contract for the Vashishta and S1 deepwater development project.

David Dickson, McDermott’s President and CEO, says: “With the emerging east coast of India deepwater market offering attractive development opportunities for our clients, we believe this long-term collaboration provides a compelling value proposition for the successful design and delivery of subsea projects.”LTHE’s facility, in Kattupalli near Chennai, will be used for fabrication and local spoolbase operations in India. 

Meanwhile, McDermott is to put its new flagship derrick lay vessel, the DLV 2000, to work offshore Western Australia, following the award of a transportation and installation from Woodside Energy on the Greater Western Flank Phase 2 Project. The installation will be about 20 miles from the Goodwyn A platform in the North West Shelf region off Western Australia.

The DLV 2000 is a class 3 DP vessel combining a 2200-ton revolving crane with a deepwater S-lay pipelay system configured to install pipelines with diameters ranging from 4.5-60in in up to 10,000ft water depths.

The vessel can accommodate up to 400 personnel to facilitate large hook-up and commissioning projects and incorporates a large, 43,000 sq. ft. open deck to allow the transportation and assembly of large subsea structures; enabling safe and efficient stand-alone operations in remote areas.

Work is expected to be performed in conjunction with McDermott’s other new subsea installation vessel, the construction support vessel (CSV) 108. The vessel is expected to undergo an upgrade later this year to install a vertical lay system and reel deployment system, also for use in the project, and will then be referred to as lay vessel (LV) 108. Engineering for the project is expected to be done by McDermott’s in-house staff in Perth and Kuala Lumpur. Fabrication and pre-installation of pre-lay support structures and 21 buckle initiators is scheduled for McDermott’s Batam Island, Indonesia, fabrication facility.

The full scope of the brownfield project covers transportation and installation of 22 miles of 16in corrosion resistant alloy clad pipeline which includes three in-line rees and pipeline end terminations at each end in water depths up to 420ft.

The DLV 2000 is also set to work on INPEX' Ichthys LNG Project offshore Western Australia. The DLV 2000 is expected to join the project as part of McDermott’s 2016 current project schedule by installing large subsea spools, laying infield umbilicals and lifting several subsea distribution units that will provide the hydraulic, chemical and electrical distribution from the umbilicals to the subsea drill centers. Work is expected to be performed in conjunction with the CSV 108.  

“It is an exciting time to see our newest subsea vessels working side-by-side on this landmark project,” said Hugh Cuthbertson, Vice President, Asia. “We look forward to this being a very successful start for the DLV 2000 and helping us deliver a successful project for our client, INPEX, and other project stakeholders as well as demonstrating the capability and versatility of the McDermott subsea fleet to the industry.” McDermott anticipates several months of work for the DLV 2000 offshore Western Australia during Q2-3 2016.

Meanwhile, McDermott has appointed Erich Kaeser to its board, effective immediately. Kaeser will serve on the company’s audit committee. Kaeser has served in executive and advisory positions, with a strong focus on the Middle East markets, throughout his 35-year career at Siemens. Kaeser, aged 60, holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Power Engineering from the Regensburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany.