McDermott’s wind-up of ops on Shell’s oil project seen as a tribute to ‘ingenuity’

U.S. offshore engineering and construction player McDermott has crossed the finish line at a deepwater oil project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, recently renamed to the Gulf of America by the Trump administration. This hydrocarbon asset is operated by Shell Offshore, a subsidiary of the UK-headquartered energy giant Shell.

While confirming “the safe and successful” completion of engineering, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning (EPCIC) activities in the U.S. Gulf for Shell, McDermott highlighted that its work enabled the energy heavyweight to begin oil production at its Whale deepwater development in the Perdido Corridor, for which a final investment decision was made in July 2021, following the initial hydrocarbon discovery in 2017.

The start-up of production came more than seven years after the discovery, with Seatrium handling the construction of the Whale floating production unit (FPU), including the fabrication and integration of the FPU topsides, living quarters, and hull. The Whale development is owned by Shell Offshore (60%, operator) and Chevron (40%).

After the completed FPU was delivered in October 2023, the integration of its topside and hull in one single lift was enabled by the Goliath twin cranes with a combined 30,000-ton lifting capacity and a 100-meter hook height. Boskalis’ Boka Vanguard vessel brought the 25,000-ton FPU Whale to Ingleside, United States.

McDermott won a deal for the project in 2021 and completed it last month, leveraging the firm’s marine assets, such as the North Ocean 102 vessel and the newly upgraded Amazon, to execute complex pipelay operations, reaching water depths of nearly 2,800 meters (9,100 feet). The activities encapsulated the installation of approximately 50 kilometers (30 miles) of pipeline and 15 kilometers (9 miles) of umbilicals, connecting five subsea drill centers to the new Whale FPU.

Mahesh Swaminathan, McDermott’s Senior Vice President, Subsea and Floating Facilities, commented: “The completion of the Whale project demonstrates the power of collaboration, engineering expertise, and ingenuity. Our relationship with Shell is one marked by trust, a focus on operational excellence, and solution-oriented project delivery.

“Together, we overcame challenges and made history with the debut of the Amazon in the Gulf of Mexico, highlighting its strategic value for subsea field developments in ultra-deepwater environments.”

According to McDermott, Amazon delivered an advanced ultra-deepwater pipelay system with a high level of automation, installing five 3,350 meters-long (approximately 11,000 feet), steel catenary risers in what has been described by the company as a Gulf of Mexico first, showcasing the vessel’s high top tension capacity, and marking “a significant milestone” for subsea infrastructure projects.

Located about 200 miles southwest of Houston, the Whale development features a semi-submersible production platform, with the capability for remote operations and monitoring of almost every aspect of the facility, representing “a significant advancement in sustainable, high-efficiency energy production,” in the U.S.-based firm’s view.

Thanks to a 99% replicated hull and an 80% replication of the topsides, the FPU Whale replicates the design of the Vito platform, which began production in early 2023. With an estimated peak production of 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), the Whale platform currently has an estimated recoverable resource volume of 480 million boe.

Shell claims that the Whale project sports energy-efficient gas turbines and compression systems, with 30% lower greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity over its life cycle than Vito in the greater Mars Corridor, enhancing the firm’s Gulf of Mexico portfolio, where oil production’s GHG intensity is perceived to be among the lowest in the world.

Located in the Alaminos Canyon Block 773, approximately 200 miles (320 kilometers) southwest of Houston, and adjacent to the Shell-operated Silvertip field, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the oil major’s operated Perdido platform, the Whale field’s semi-submersible production host is situated in more than 8,600 feet (2,600 meters) of water with 15 wells to be tied back to the host via subsea infrastructure.

“Seamless collaboration across multiple offices, plus skilled engineering and procurement guided by rigorous safety protocols, ensured the project’s success,” emphasized McDermott.

Recently, Shell set the wheels into motion to acquire ConocoPhillips’ interests in the Ursa and Europa assets, including Ursa Oil Pipeline Company and an overriding royalty interest in the Ursa field, for $735 million, subject to customary closing adjustments.

Meanwhile, McDermott, which concluded the sale of its storage business last year, recently finished offshore installation and commissioning work at a project offshore Malaysia and expanded its contract backlog, with a front-end engineering design (FEED) assignment with Repsol for two oil fields.