J. Ray McDermott wins East India oilfield contract

"It's an honor for us to have been selected for this major initiative contributing to the development of India's offshore oilfields," said Hafez Aghili, J. Ray's senior vice president and general manager, Middle East and India. "J. Ray's business with Reliance dates back to the early 1990s, and we are pleased to continue the relationship by working together on the ambitious KG-D6 project."

J. Ray will utilize resources from around the world. Facilities in Jebel Ali, UAE, Houston, Texas and Morgan City, Louisiana, USA, will collaborate to perform the schedule-driven project. From first steel cut to project completion is expected to take approximately 18 months, with hook-up and pre-commissioning to complete by the end of the first quarter of 2008.

Detailed design and engineering will be conducted by J. Ray's engineering division in Houston, with procurement handled through J. Ray's Houston and Jebel Ali offices for the supply of the platform.

"Due to the completion timeline, we have split the construction work scope between two fabrication yards," said Edward Gedeon, J. Ray's general manager - projects, "Our Morgan City facility will handle the fabrication of the jacket weighing approximately 7,500MT, while the 4,700MT topside plus 4,500MT of piles and appurtenances will be built at Jebel Ali."

By the third quarter of 2007, the jacket will be loaded on to a fast transport vessel destined for India. All installation work will be carried out by J. Ray's in-house marine fleet.