LNG

McDermott, the US engineering and construction company, and energy and LNG technology company Baker Hughes, have completed the installation of subsea infrastructure at the Ichthys gas field in northern Australia linked to the liquefaction plant operated by Japan’s Inpex Corp.

The contract was awarded to a McDermott and Baker Hughes consortium in 2019 by Inpex, the operator of the Ichthys project at Badin Point near Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory.

Ichthys LNG has as additional shareholders French major TotalEnergies and the Australian subsidiaries of CPC Corp. of Taiwan, and Japanese utilities an importers Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Kansai Electric Power, JERA and Toho Gas.

Key LNG producer

Ichthys LNG has nameplate capacity of 9.3 million tonnes per annum LNG and 1.65 million tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas per annum along with more than 100,000 barrels of condensate per day at peak output.

The McDermott-Baker Hughes subsea infrastructure development project included engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of umbilicals, risers and flowlines (URF), a subsea production system comprised of a new 7-inch (approximately 18 centimetres) vertical Ichthys LNG planthristmas tree (VXT) system.

McDermotts said this is all part of forming a subsea well gathering system (GS4) tied back to the existing the “Ichthys Explorer “central processing facility.

The consortium’s scope of work also included an in-fill URF EPCI involving the development of new subsea wells tied-in to the existing gathering systems.

“The McDermott and Baker Hughes partnership has been marked by resilience and adaptability, guided by our firm commitment to deliver for the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG and Australia,” said Mahesh Swaminathan, McDermott’s Senior Vice President, Subsea and Floating Facilities.

Engineering capabilities

“Together, leveraging McDermott’s unique end-to-end EPCI capabilities and Baker Hughes’s subsea development solutions, we navigated project complexities and overcame the unique challenges posed by the pandemic,” Swaminathan explained.

“Our hard work paid off, and I would like to thank our teams in Perth (Australia), Batam (Indonesia), and beyond, whose collective efforts enabled the safe completion of this important work scope,” Swaminathan added.

Romain Chambault, Baker Hughes Senior Vice President, Subsea Projects and Services, said the completion was achieved through the successful partnership between Baker Hughes and McDermott to execute the project for Inpex.

“The amount of collaboration shown between the consortium has been truly unique and serves as an industry benchmark for the successful execution of large, complex EPCI subsea projects,” Chambault stated.

US energy engineering company McDermott has received a limited notice to proceed for an engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract from Shell for the Manatee natural gas field development project offshore the East Coast of Trinidad and Tobago with supplies destined for LNG production and domestic gas supplies.

McDermott International, the US energy and liquefied natural gas project engineering company, has reached support agreements with more than 75 percent of secured letter of credit facility providers, funded debt creditors and equity holders stemming from its several years of debt woes.

McDermott, the US energy and liquefied natural gas project engineering company, was awarded an offshore pipeline and installation contract from Shell subsidiary Sarawak Shell for the Selasih natural gas fields pipelay and heavy-lift project off the coast of Sarawak in East Malaysia to help underpin LNG production.

Shell is the operator for the exploration acreage and new fields in the F22 and F27 Selasih area which are part of the Malaysia LNG extension and production sharing contract (PSC).

Nearly all the gas produced offshore Sarawak is supplied to Malaysia LNG and to the gas-to-liquids (GTL) plants in Bintulu.

Analysts note that Shell is still very active in Malaysia and is involved in oil and gas offshore Sabah and Sarawak under about 16 PSCs in which its interests range from 20 percent to 85 percent.

Offshore Sabah, the UK-based major’s local subsidiary operates two producing oil fields, including the Gumusut-Kakap deepwater field, with Shell’s interest 29 percent, and the Malikai deepwater field, Shell interest 35 percent.

However, Shell is even more active offshore Sarawak where it is the operator of eight producing gas fields with Shell’s interest 50 percent.

Among the projects were included the 2019 abandonment of depleted wells for the Serai field and the Saderi fields.

Shell then signed agreements for the extension of the Malaysia LNG PSC using other sources.

McDermott scope

Under the scope of the latest contract with Shell, McDermott said it would perform transportation and installation services for two pipeline segments and one section of flexible pipelay.

McDermott will also provide pre-commissioning works on all infield pipelines and perform the structural installation of three jackets and topsides.

“This is the fourth project we are executing for Shell under the Subsea and Floating Facilities project portfolio, demonstrating the strength of our long-standing relationship,” said Mahesh Swaminathan, McDermott's Senior Vice President for Subsea and Floating Facilities.

The project management and engineering will be executed in Malaysia, leveraging the local expertise.

Offshore installations will be performed using the “DLV2000”, McDermott's versatile heavy lift and pipelay vessel.

“To ensure efficient project delivery, we will draw upon the expertise from our Kuala Lumpur center, which supports the global execution of subsea and offshore projects,” stated Swaminathan.

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