McDermott International has completed the offshore installation of the Floating Production Unit (FPU) for the Scarborough gas field operated by Woodside Energy. This operation concludes the fabrication, construction and assembly phases conducted in China as part of the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) contract.
A structure designed for long-term operations
The project includes a 30,000-ton topside and a 37,000-ton hull, making it the largest floating unit ever built by McDermott. Designed for long-term operation, the platform features 169 core equipment units, including three gas export compressors and three generators with heat recovery systems. It also includes a battery energy storage system to support operations during critical maintenance phases.
The topside was built at the Qingdao McDermott Wuchuan (QMW) yard, a joint venture established in China, while the hull was constructed at the China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) yard in Qidong. More than one million metres of cabling and 50,000 metres of piping have been installed on the structure.
Final preparations in China before transfer to Australia
Both structures were transported offshore in early May, then assembled off the coast of Dalian via a floatover operation. This method, which allows the installation of heavy modules without the use of cranes, represents a strategic step in the offshore logistics process during the pre-operational phase.
The FPU was then moved to the Raffles yard operated by China International Marine Containers (CIMC) in Yantai for final integration works. These pre-deployment operations are intended to prepare the platform for production at the Scarborough field, located 375 kilometres off the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia.
A platform prepared for maintenance in extreme environments
The technical layout of the FPU was designed to facilitate offshore servicing, with 568 integrated subsystems and accessible infrastructure for critical interventions. This setup aims to reduce production downtime and enhance long-term operational reliability.
“The completion of this phase reflects our commitment to the safe and structured execution of complex offshore projects,” said Mahesh Swaminathan, Senior Vice President at McDermott, according to PR Newswire on May 13.
