Houston-based J. Ray McDermott (“J. Ray”), a subsidiary of McDermott International, Inc., announces the award of a contract by PEMEX Exploración y Producción for transportation and installation of the Ixtal-B and Maloob-C drilling platforms.  These projects are located in the Bay of Campeche, Mexico, in 216 and 272 feet of water, respectively.  Contracts of this nature are typically valued at more than US $40 million.

“This is the first installation contract PEMEX has awarded directly to J. Ray and follows on the heels of our contract for the Maloob-C platform construction in December 2007,” says John Nesser, J. Ray’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “Our Altamira, Mexico fabrication facility was fast-tracked and constructed in record time, and its deepwater fabrication capabilities and strategic access to the Gulf of Mexico make it the ideal location for deepwater project construction. J. Ray has a reputation as an industry leader known for delivering quality products with schedule certainty, and we look forward to further developing a partnership with PEMEX on future projects.” 

The Ixtal-B drilling platform comprises a 1,984-ton, four-leg jacket with 2,205 tons of piles, and a 2,205-ton topside. The Maloob-C drilling platform comprises a 3,527-ton, eight-leg jacket, 2,535-ton topside, and 3,307 tons of piles and 2,646 tons of 30-inch conductors. The Ixtal-B jacket will be a “lift and set” installation, while the Maloob-C jacket will be launched conventionally.

J. Ray will mobilize its DB50 construction vessel from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in the second quarter of 2009 to perform the installation of both facilities.  Platform components for Maloob-C will be transported to the installation site onboard material barges from J. Ray’s Altamira fabrication facility, and components for Ixtal-B will be transported via material barges from a third party location. 

Project management for both platform installations will be performed by J. Ray’s Deepwater and Americas project management group located in the U.S. and Altamira, Mexico.  The project is expected to be completed before the third quarter of 2009.

 

J. Ray McDermott, S.A., a subsidiary of McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE:MDR), and its subsidiaries provide engineering, construction, procurement, installation and project management services to offshore oil and gas developments worldwide.

McDermott International, Inc. is an engineering and construction company, with specialty manufacturing and service capabilities, focused on energy infrastructure. McDermott’s customers are predominantly utilities and other power generators, major and national oil companies, and the United States Government.  With its global operations, McDermott operates in more than 20 countries with more than 25,000 employees.

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 which 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 statements concerning the value, and project execution, of the PEMEX Exploración y Producción Ixtal-B and Maloob-C projects. 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 by using various underlying assumptions and are subject to numerous uncertainties and risks.  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, 2007 and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.