McDermott to build Scarborough floating production unit for Woodside

McDermott International has been awarded a contract by Woodside, as the operator for and on behalf of the Scarborough Joint Venture, for the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) services for its floating production unit (FPU) offshore Western Australia.

The award follows the successful completion of the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) for the Scarborough project, which was awarded to McDermott back in February 2019.

The integrated scope for this latest contract also includes the design, fabrication, integration, transportation and installation of the hull and topsides, McDermott revealed on Monday.

The topside, which will be approximately 30,000 tons, will be fabricated by McDermott’s joint venture fabrication yard, Qingdao McDermott Wuchuan, in China. The project scope includes a battery energy storage system to reduce emissions on the topsides and support Woodside’s net emissions reduction targets.

“McDermott brings the engineering and execution expertise to deliver integrated deepwater subsea projects and offshore FPUs to the highest standards,” said Samik Mukherjee, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

He added: “After a long engagement on the project, the collaborative execution model with Woodside—from pre-FEED through to EPCIC—de-risks execution. Further, the facilities incorporate energy efficiency in design to reduce Scarborough’s offshore emissions.”

Engineering expertise will be leveraged from McDermott’s Kuala Lumpur and Gurgaon offices, with the company’s subsea team in Perth supporting transport, installation, hook up and commissioning activities.

The FPU processes natural gas, which includes gas separation, dehydration and compression as well as mono ethylene glycol regeneration and produced-water handling. Designed for a production capacity of up to 1.8 billion standard cubic feet per day, the topside will be connected to the semi-submersible hull and pre-commissioned prior to transportation and installation in a water depth of 3,100 feet (950 meters), approximately 248 miles (400 kilometres) offshore Western Australia.

McDermott noted that the FPU will be capable of being remotely operated and minimally staffed during normal production operations.

The Scarborough Joint Venture comprises Woodside (73.5 per cent) and BHP Petroleum (Australia) (26.5 per cent). Woodside and BHP announced on 22 November 2021 that a final investment decision has been made by the Scarborough Joint Venture to proceed with the Scarborough Project.