J. Ray McDermott signs long term agreement with Saudi Aramco

The project is known in the industry as the 'Long Term Agreement' or 'LTA.'

"We have worked in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East for more than 45 years, and this is the largest project we've ever undertaken for Saudi Aramco to date," said Stewart Mitchell, J. Ray's Vice President and General Manager for the Middle East and India. "Saudi Arabia has significant plans to increase oil production to meet the world's rapidly growing energy demand and our contribution in developing the facilities under the LTA will play a vital role in helping Saudi Aramco meet that commitment."

The LTA project consists of several packages that will be awarded over the coming years. The first package consists of 13 jackets, 11 decks and one tie-in platform. In this first package, J. Ray will procure and construct over 17,500 MT of structures at its Jebel Ali facility that will be installed in water depths of 14 m - 55 m. In addition, the company will install 12 pipelines totaling 70 km in length and six sub-sea cables totaling 53 km. All work will be performed by J. Ray's marine vessels in the Zuluf, Safaniya, Marjan and Karan fields, offshore Saudi Arabia. Work under the first package is scheduled for completion by 2009.

Subsequent packages under the LTA will be confirmed over the coming years on an annual basis as Saudi Aramco finalizes their development plans and budget allocations.