McDermott signs MoU with Saudi Aramco to build offshore platforms

US-based construction and engineering firm McDermott International has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saudi Aramco for a long-term land lease at the new maritime facility at Ras Al Khair, located in the east coast of Saudi Arabia.

The company plans to construct a fabrication and marine complex here. This forms part of the firm’s plans to invest in offshore manufacturing facilities in the region with upgraded technology and increased automation.

These facilities will consist of a marine and fabrication complex that will be built using the most advanced techniques as well as also being highly automated, according to a media statement. The cost of construction of the complex is estimated to be more than $5 billion. It will also be built with the aim of being able to serve additional markets in the Middle East and the Caspian area. With the new facilities, McDermott will expand its capacity and capability in the area and be able to meet the needs of its clients in the subsea and offshore market segments.

McDermott’s Ras Al Khair fabrication facility is expected to offer a capacity of approximately 16 million man-hours compared to a capacity of 8 million hours offer by the existing McDermott facility located in Jebel Ali. In the next decade, the firm wants to move its operations to Ras Al Khair from Jebel Ali.

The investment that McDermott will make in Ras Al Khair is the first among several planned in the area of as part of a move by Saudi Arabia to diversify the economy away from oil and create employment. Also, the Kingdom wants more of the equipment and machinery used in its oil industry manufactured domestically rather than be imported.