McDermott Wins Spar Hull Installation Contract (Gulf of Mexico)

McDermott International, Inc. announced yesterday that one of its subsidiaries has been awarded a contract by Williams Partners L.P. for transportation and installation services for a Spar hull in the Gulf of Mexico. The value of the contract is included in McDermott’s second quarter 2012 backlog.

McDermott will transport and install the Gulfstar FPS GS-1 Spar hull and moorings. Located approximately 150 miles offshore, the Spar platform is destined for the Gulf of Mexico’s Mississippi Canyon and will sit in approximately 4,200 feet of water.

“McDermott’s involvement on Spar projects extends decades and ranges from full engineering, procurement, construction and installation experience, to installation of hulls, moorings or topsides only, including some of the first Spar platforms in the Gulf of Mexico,” said Steven W. Roll, Vice President and General Manager, Atlantic of McDermott. “Our experience with classic Spar installation and synthetic mooring deployment, as well as our overall competitiveness on the project, gave us the leading edge,” explained Roll.

McDermott’s recently improved DB50 vessel will install the moorings before transporting the classic-design Spar hull to the installation site where it will be upended and ballasted before installing a temporary work deck. The offshore campaign is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2013.

“We have invested more than $150 million to improve our well established deepwater combination heavy lift and pipelay vessel DB50, by enhancing the power and propulsion systems, and adding a new deepwater lowering system,” explained Roll.

DB50 is expected to deliver a greater level of reliability and versatility for subsea and platform completion projects since the installation of four new generators, six new thrusters, new DP controls, as well as a new active heave compensated deep water lowering system mounted in the crane and designed for loads to a water depth of 11,000 feet.