Subsea North Sea Pipelay Alliance Agreed

Ocean Installer & leading offshore engineering & construction company McDermott establish alliance to meet rigid pipelay needs in the North Sea subsea market.

The alliance marks McDermott’s re-entry into the North Sea and establishes Ocean Installer as a tier one North Sea contractor by adding rigid pipelay to the company’s capabilities.

McDermott continues to expand its subsea resources including a growing fleet of rigid-pipelay vessels such as the highly advanced Lay Vessel North Ocean 105, its sister ship Lay Vessel 108 (expected to be available mid-2014), and recently announced new-build deepwater combination S-Lay vessel with a 2000-ton crane DLV 2000, (expected to be available in 2015).

The North Sea SURF (subsea, umbilical, riser, flowline) market is expanding rapidly and there is a clear need for additional capacity. McDermott and Ocean Installer are expected to address this by combining the highly specialised expertise of Ocean Installer’s North Sea organisation with the worldwide resources and experience of McDermott. The alliance implies a significant capacity increase in the region and is expected to make a notable impact on the regional subsea market.

The agreement commits the parties to exclusively pursue and jointly execute rigid pipelay projects in the North Sea and also serves as a framework for a more permanent relationship between the two companies.

We are very pleased that McDermott has chosen Ocean Installer as its partner for the development of rigid pipelay solutions in the North Sea and we look forward to advancing our capabilities further together. Not only is this arrangement beneficial to our two companies, it brings about increased supply and dynamic competition, showing how companies can work together to address growing needs in the market, says Steinar Riise, Chief Executive Officer of Norwegian company Ocean Installer.