The project is part of a bigger program which aims to replace the aging facilities with electrified platforms to increase potential of the fields.
The contract includes the design, procurement, fabrication, transportation, installation, testing and pre-commissioning of nine slipover jackets and decks, subsea pipelines and cables, as well as the associated demolition of certain facilities, in the Safaniya field.
It also includes the construction of one single well observation platform in the Zuluf field.
McDermott said it will start work shortly and the contract be reflected in its 2016 fourth quarter backlog.
The Safaniya oil field is located 125 miles (201km) north of Dhahran in the Arabian Gulf and is considered to be the largest offshore oil field in the world.
McDermott has been associated with the Safaniya oil field since 1964 and has installed 62 platforms and large number of associated flexibles, umbilicals, flow/trunk pipelines and power/composite cables.
In the last six years, McDermott took up the job of three major electrification projects at the oil field, which included 13 new platforms and 34 platform upgrades and modifications.
During this period, the American engineering company had installed Saudi Aramco’s largest platform at 6,600 tons and the world’s longest 230kV composite cable at approximately 29 miles (46.7 km).
For this job, the company plans to use its engineering and procurement teams in Dubai, UAE and the recently opened office in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
McDermott’s facilities in Dubai and Dammam, Saudi Arabia will take up the fabrication work and vessels from its global fleet are scheduled to perform the installation work.
McDermott’s Middle East and Caspian vice president Linh Austin said: “McDermott’s partnership with Saudi Aramco developing the Safaniya field dates back more than 50 years.
“We believe we are uniquely positioned to achieve Saudi Aramco’s accelerated schedule based on our unparalleled experience providing integrated solutions within the region and in shallow water development and installation.”
