PRESS RELEASE: August 15, 2006

J. Ray McDermott Awarded Qatar Pearl GTL Contract

J. Ray McDermott Awarded Qatar Pearl GTL Contract

McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE:MDR) (“McDermott”) announced today that a subsidiary of J. Ray McDermott, S.A. (“J. Ray”) was recently awarded a contract by Shell Qatar GTL Limited to engineer, construct, transport, install hook-up and pre-commission two wellhead platforms in Qatar’s North Field, for the Pearl gas-to-liquids (“GTL”) project.

Bob Deason, President and Chief Operating Officer of J. Ray, commented on the contract award, "Pearl GTL is a world class project of strategic importance to both Shell and to Qatar. We are pleased to continue our involvement in the country’s offshore field development program and in particular with the prestigious Pearl project.”

FEED verification and detailed design engineering on the topsides has already begun at J. Ray’s Jebel Ali engineering office; and construction will begin at J. Ray’s Jebel Ali yard later this month. Each platform, Pearl 1 and Pearl 2, weighs an average of 3,600 metric tonnes.

“J. Ray has a long history working offshore Qatar, and our project team will bring significant experience to bear on this field development, to the benefit of the Pearl GTL project,” added Deason.

McDermott International, Inc. is a leading worldwide energy services company. McDermott subsidiaries provide engineering, construction, installation, procurement, research, manufacturing, environmental systems, project management and facility management services to a variety of customers in the power and energy industries, including the U.S. Department of Energy. Additional information on McDermott can be obtained at www.mcdermott.com.

In accordance with the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, McDermott International, Inc. cautions that statements in this press release which are forward-looking and provide other than historical information involve risks and uncertainties that may impact McDermott’s actual results of operations. The forward-looking statements in this press release include, among other things, the work scope and timing of the Shell Qatar GTL Limited award. Although McDermott’s management believes that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, McDermott can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Those statements are made based on various underlying assumptions and are subject to numerous uncertainties and risks, including without limitation change orders and other modifications to contracts. If one or more of these risks materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected. For a more complete discussion of these risk factors, please see McDermott’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 and the Company’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For more information, please contact:

Louise Denly
Director, Public Relations
J. Ray McDermott, Inc.
Houston, TX
(281) 870-5025
E-Mail:ldenly@mcdermott.com
www.mcdermott.com