McDermott International, Inc. announced that its Australian subsidiary has received and signed a letter of award for the Ichthys Gas-condensate Field Development subsea umbilical, riser, flowline (“SURF”) project by INPEX. The contract value is in the order of magnitude of US$2 billion and is the largest subsea contract McDermott has been awarded to date.

This project includes engineering, procurement, construction, installation (“EPCI”) and pre-commissioning of production flowline systems, a MEG injection system, plus start-up condensate transfer and fuel gas transfer flowline systems, control systems as well as other associated SURF elements in water depths up to 275 meters. McDermott will also install mooring systems for the Floating Production, Storage and Offtake vessel and Central Processing Facility as well as installation engineering for future flowlines, risers and umbilicals.

McDermott has already begun engineering and procurement work and is expected to start fabrication of more than 16,000 tonnes of subsea equipment, including a subsea Riser Support Structure and installation aids, at its Batam Island, Indonesia fabrication facility beginning in 2013. The complex offshore installation campaign will see McDermott undertake the installation of subsea hardware, moorings, risers, umbilicals and flowlines utilizing its specialty subsea vessels Emerald Sea and North Ocean 102. McDermott is working with Heerema Marine Contractors (“Heerema”) for transportation and installation of a portion of the offshore scope, utilizing the heavy lift, J-Lay and Reel-Lay capability of Heerema’s new-build vessel Aegir.

Stephen M. Johnson, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, McDermott said, “McDermott has a long track record working on EPCI projects offshore Australia. This major SURF award firmly endorses McDermott’s core EPCI competencies and our competitive subsea construction vessels, combined with Heerema’s installation strength and the team’s alignment with INPEX. This is a large scale and complex development, and we are firmly behind promoting the success of this LNG project.”

The Ichthys LNG Project is a Joint Venture between INPEX (76%, the Operator) and Total (24%). Gas from the Ichthys Field, in the Browse Basin approximately 200 kilometers offshore Western Australia, will undergo preliminary processing offshore to remove water and extract condensate. The gas will then be exported to onshore processing facilities in Darwin via an 889-kilometer subsea pipeline. The Ichthys LNG Project is expected to produce 8.4 million tonnes of LNG and 1.6 million tonnes of LPG per annum, along with approximately 100,000 barrels of condensate per day at peak.