McDermott develops new tool to estimate carbon impact of energy facilities

U.S. offshore engineering and construction services provider McDermott has launched a tool, which is designed to enable the collection and reporting on the carbon footprint of energy facilities even before they are built.

McDermott on Thursday launched ArborXD, a web-based tool that supports carbon-conscious decision making for energy customers seeking pathways to net-zero operations. As explained by the company, the tool provides data collection, estimation, and reporting on the potential carbon impact of energy facilities before construction begins.

“ArborXD is another demonstration of the powerful combination of McDermott’s integrated engineering expertise, innovation and commitment to advance and enable our customers’ sustainability goals,” said Samik Mukherjee, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

“It is an energy industry differentiator that will help quantifiably reduce the operating footprint of the facilities we design and build.”

Embedded as early as the design phase, ArborXD is applied throughout the energy project life cycle—whether a concept, front-end engineering design or an engineering, procurement, construction and installation project. As a web-based tool, ArborXD provides customers access to life cycle footprint estimates, cost tradeoff analyses, emission reduction pathways and environmental impact assessments.

“Today, we celebrate innovation at McDermott and the collaboration that made this transformative solution possible,” said Rachel Clingman, Executive Vice President of Sustainability and Governance.

Clingman added: “ArborXD directly advances McDermott’s commitment to deliver net-zero facilities for the energy industry and provides a meaningful advantage as our customers work to assess and mitigate emissions.”

McDermott outlined its emission reduction targets in its sustainability report last year, revealing its aim to reach a 50 per cent reduction in scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, as well as a 35 per cent reduction in scope 3 GHG emissions for ten key supply chain categories by 2030.

As part of its efforts to reduce and eliminate emissions from construction, McDermott is working with Shell on decarbonising construction and building pathways to a net-zero carbon future under an agreement the two made late last year.

Furthermore, the U.S. company earlier this month joined forces with Australia’s national science organisation, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), to advance carbon capture solutions in response to rising decarbonisation calls, aimed at accelerating the energy transition and bringing the industry closer to a net-zero future.