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HOUSTON, Dec 21, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — J. Ray McDermott, S.A. (”J. Ray” or “the Company”), a subsidiary of McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE:MDR) (”McDermott”), announced today the completion of a vessel transaction with Oceanteam ASA (OSL: OPU) for the subsea construction vessel, North Ocean 102 (”NO102″) and a new build vessel, North Ocean 105 (”NO105″).

Under the terms of the transaction, J. Ray will have an approximately fifty percent ownership stake in the NO102 vessel owning company and a seventy-five percent ownership stake in the NO105 vessel owning company – and will partner with Oceanteam to construct the new build NO105. J. Ray has agreed to charter the vessels for five years from these respective companies, after which, J. Ray will have the option to purchase Oceanteam’s shares in both vessel owning companies.

“The addition of the NO102 and the new build NO105 to the J. Ray fleet will provide us with versatile subsea and deepwater installation equipment to support our growing subsea capabilities across a range of water depths worldwide,” said Bob Deason, President and Chief Executive Officer of J. Ray.

Outfitted with state-of-the-art marine construction equipment, J. Ray intends to use the new construction vessels to install a wide variety of products and facilities for the offshore oil and gas industry, including submarine power cables, control cables and umbilicals, flexible pipelines, rigid-reeled pipelines, subsea components and hardware, as well as deepwater moorings for floating facilities.

“We aim to pursue high-growth subsea markets around the world,” said Deason. “Leveraging these two new marine construction assets with our worldwide subsea engineering capabilities, the NO102 and, after construction, the NO105 will improve our overall EPCI offering in subsea, floating and conventional project installation work.”

The 427-foot NO102 should enable J. Ray to be an immediate player in the flexible pipe installation market. J. Ray expects to take delivery of the NO102 in the third quarter of 2010 following completion of the current vessel charter. The vessel has two cranes and a moon pool to support deepwater subsea construction work and has a fast transit speed. It is currently equipped with a 7,000-ton capacity cable, umbilical and flexible pipe carousel with horizontal lay system. J. Ray plans to further upgrade the vessel’s capability by installing a high-capacity flexible-lay system for ultra deepwater installation work. The upgrade will include installation of a new 250-ton crane.

The second vessel, the 427-foot NO105, will be constructed at the Metalships & Docks S.A.U. shipyard in Vigo, Spain. J. Ray plans to outfit the vessel with a high capacity rigid-reeled pipe-lay system with top-tier payload capacity. The system will also accommodate installation of flexible products including submarine cables and umbilicals and flexible pipelines. The anticipated delivery date of the NO105 is during the last quarter of 2011, and is subject to completing the Spanish Tax Lease structure under which the vessel will be built.

The addition of these construction vessels to J. Ray’s fleet reinforces the Company’s subsea growth strategy and enables the company to meet the growing demands of the technically challenging deepwater market.

McDermott is an engineering and construction company, with specialty manufacturing and service capabilities, focused on energy infrastructure. McDermott’s customers are predominantly utilities and other power generators, major and national oil companies, and the United States Government. With its global operations, McDermott operates in over 20 countries with more than 25,000 employees.

In accordance with the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, McDermott International, Inc. cautions that statements in this press release, which are forward-looking and provide other than historical information, involve risks and uncertainties that may impact the actual results of the transaction. These forward-looking statements include statements about the growth in J. Ray’s subsea capabilities, the use of the construction vessels, the improvement of J. Ray’s overall EPCI offering, the flexible pipe installation market, upgrades to the NO102, the outfit of the NO105, the delivery of the NO102 following the completion of its current charter, the anticipated delivery date of the NO105 and J. Ray’s ability to meet the growing demands of the technically challenging deepwater market. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Those statements are made by using various underlying assumptions and are subject to numerous uncertainties and risks, including, without limitation, market conditions, actions of third parties, financing of the construction of the NO105, construction delays and difficulties and the actual performance of the vessels. If one or more of these risks materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected, projected or implied. For a more complete discussion of these and other risk factors, please see McDermott’s annual and quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Forms 10-Q. Except to the extent required by applicable law, McDermott undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.

www.mcdermott-investors.com

Mukesh’s brother-in-law Lalit Kumar. (Mita Ray)Image: telegraphindia.com

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Purulia, Dec. 16: Diver Mukesh Kumar’s right leg was sawed off and his lifeless body pulled out, 72 hours after his foot got sucked into a drainage pipe in an underwater chamber.

“All efforts were made to save him but we regret that they failed,” said Surajit Dutta, the project manager of a Purulia hydel power project where Mukesh had come as part of a team assigned to repair an underwater leak.

When his body, bound by a rope, emerged from a 120ft vertical tunnel, the right leg was missing from the top of the knee.

The suction at the mouth of the drainage pipe was so great that it had drawn in the leg till almost the thigh, though it was only till the ankle that his had foot got stuck initially.

Two divers went down at 11.50am for the final mission. Santosh Bhuniya and Sanyasi Rao memorised the number of steps to be climbed and turns to be taken to reach the chamber with the help of those who had ventured into it earlier.

In the dark, flooded chamber, Mukesh was anchored in the foot but his torso wavered with the current created by openings in other drainage pipes.

It was a daunting task, especially for Rao. The man from Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, had to cut Mukesh’s leg to retrieve the body.

“We had worked together on a number of missions before. We have known each other for many years. Never had I thought I would one day have to do this,” a somewhat shaken Rao said after coming up.

Bhuniya, from Barrackpore, near Calcutta, could not recall another such experience.

The leader of the Barrackpore divers, Ganesh Das, said Mukesh appeared to have made some mistakes while going down on Sunday. “He was not wearing flippers. Had he been wearing them, his foot would not have got stuck. He also took a wrong step inside the chamber,” Das said.

Mukesh had 10 years of diving experience and the Mumbai company which had assigned him the job had described him as one of their best.

Mukesh’s brother-in-law Lalit Kumar, who came from Visakhapatnam, was angry that he could not be pulled out yesterday.

“Why did the team from Barrackpore take a whole day to arrive (it reached on Monday night)? Why didn’t the Mumbai firm requisition the Rajahmundry divers earlier? Why couldn’t his leg be amputated on Monday itself, while he was alive?” he asked.

Contacted in Mumbai, C.K. Baruah, project manager of Grafftech Marine & Engineering, said amputation was the last resort and a move not without complications. “We had to eliminate all other options and proceed step by step,” he said.

Officials of the Purulia Pumped Storage Project said the task of locating and repairing the leak had been shelved for the time being.

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http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091217/jsp/bengal/story_11876539.jsp

A diver from the Calcutta team crawls out of a pipe after a futile rescue bid. Picture by Mita Ray

UPDATE: Diver body pulled out

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Purulia, Dec. 15: All attempts to extricate the right foot of diver Mukesh Kumar, stuck in a pipe inside a pitch dark and submerged chamber of a Purulia power project’s reservoir since Sunday afternoon, remained unsuccessful till late Tuesday night.

It is feared that the 35-year-old father of two may not have survived the ordeal.

His intake of oxygen, being piped from the surface, dropped this morning, said officials involved in the rescue operations for over 48 hours.

“Until we get hold of the body, officially all that we can say is that efforts are on to get Mukesh out,” said Surojit Dutta, project manager of the hydel power plant nestled in the Ayodhya hills, about 380km from Calcutta.

Divers from a firm in Barrackpore, on the fringes of Calcutta, who specialise in underwater rescue went down last night. “The suction at the mouth of the drainage pipe where his foot is stuck is too great,” said Ashis Dutta, one of the four from the city.

Two divers went down in vain this morning.

In the afternoon, they tied Mukesh with ropes to pull him up from the surface, but it led to fears that his foot might get severed.

“His mask had come off and the body had become stiff because of the cold water and the enormous pressure at such depth,” Ashis said.

Mukesh Kumar

Mukesh has been under 120ft of water for over 48 hours and his diving suit is apparently not equipped to maintain pressure beyond 38 hours. Even when he was breathing normally last night, the authorities were concerned about the lack of nutrition and drinking water.

In Jhajjar, Haryana, where his wife Pinki lives with their children, the family has been informed about the developments. Other members of the team of seven with which Mukesh came to Purulia to repair an underwater leak called her.

The Mumbai-based Grafftech Marine and Engineering Company had assigned the job to the team from Visakhapatnam after officials of the Purulia Pumped Storage Project contracted it to locate and repair the leak in a reservoir chamber, first noticed in March.

Asked how the accident happened, Grafftech project manager C.K. Baruah said the foot must have been pulled in by the suction of the drainage pipe when he stepped on it. His teammates could not pull him out on Sunday afternoon because, the official said, a nervous Mukesh held on to them every time they came near him.

As a result of the leak in the pipe, the water level in the reservoir had been going down and hurting power generation.

Baruah said the job was to locate the leak in the inundated reservoir chamber, find out what had caused it and carry out repairs.

The repair work was to have been recorded on camera but there is no footage of Mukesh’s dive.

Baruah admitted that such assignments were risky. “That is why divers with experience and capable of taking care of themselves are given such tasks. Mukesh had 10 years’ experience behind him. He was associated with us for five years and was a senior member of the team. But accidents happen. His foot got pulled into the pipe by its powerful suction,” he added.

The divers from Barrackpore, who were summoned on Sunday itself, took almost a day to arrive, allegedly because of a roadblock on Durgapur Expressway.

“We were held up by an agitation on the highway and then we had to find our way to the project site from Purulia town,” said Ashis.

“Maybe the diver could have been saved had they reached by noon yesterday,” an employee of the power plant said.

Another set of divers has started for Purulia from Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh. Their job will possibly be reduced to extricating the body.

Baruah promised a Rs 5- lakh compensation for Mukesh’s wife in case he was found dead.

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http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091216/jsp/bengal/story_11871258.jsp

Royal Dutch Shell has publicly announced it will slash 5,000 jobs by year end–including “hundreds” in Houston–as part of a sweeping reorganization new CEO Peter Voser said is needed to make the company more competitive.

But under a separate program, the European oil giant has been quietly transferring additional office jobs from Houston and elsewhere to India and the Philippines to reduce costs, according to internal Shell documents obtained by the Chronicle and a person familiar with the plan.

The “migration” programs affect employees in finance and other support functions, which are being consolidated in what the oil company calls “shared service centers” in low-cost countries to fit the new company structure.

They are “part of a Shell-wide effort to streamline processes and improve efficiency” and “will enable us to deliver consistently world-class service at a competitive cost,” according to a Shell Powerpoint presentation for a portion of the company’s finance division.

It’s unclear how many of Shell’s 13,000 employees in the Houston area will be affected by the migration plans. Partly, that’s because company officials are still deciding which jobs will stay or go abroad, and are rolling out the plans in phases that run into next year. But at least a few divisions in Houston are preparing to be downsized dramatically.

“People are very concerned about their future,” said a Shell finance employee, who requested anonymity for fear of losing his job.

He said about a quarter of the jobs on his team will be relocated to India in coming months and that more will follow under a final phase next year.

The salaries for the foreign jobs are a small fraction of those for similar U.S. jobs and have fewer benefits, making it impractical for many American employees to make the move, the finance employee said.

Shell officials would not comment directly on the internal company documents, nor discuss potential job losses from migration programs. But they said shared service centers in Manila are part of a broader effort to make the company more efficient and competitive.

Major oil companies including Shell, ConocoPhillips and BP have been cutting jobs, capital spending budgets and other costs in response to the global economic downturn that has sapped demand for petroleum products like gasoline and diesel fuel.

And it’s nothing new for multinational companies to move U.S. jobs to lower-wage countries to save on labor costs.

But Shell’s migration programs could have broader implications for Houston. They suggest that yet another category of well-paying jobs in the oil and gas industry is leaving the city, perhaps forever, as energy companies try to get leaner to compete.

“We talk about Houston being the energy capital of the world, but it’s lost some of that edge, especially in the manufacturing sector,” said Barton Smith, director of the University of Houston’s Institute for Regional Forecasting. “But it remains the technological center of energy and it remains, to a large extent, the financial center.”

The exit of energy finance jobs from the city would be discouraging, especially as a shortage of engineering talent has already forced the oil industry to recruit overseas, said Amy Jaffe, a senior fellow in energy studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute.

But at the same time, Shell could add other jobs to the region over time as the company develops major projects in North and South America, she said.

In fact, the region should be a “disproportionately growing part of Shell” in coming years with new projects in deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil, the Canadian oil sands and natural gas fields in the U.S. and Canada, said Marvin Odum, president of the company’s U.S. division, in a recent interview with the Chronicle.

For now, however, the company is still finding its footing amid uncertainty on many fronts.

Shell, which is based in The Hague, with U.S. headquarters in Houston, has been involved in a major downsizing since Voser replaced Jeroen van der Veer as CEO in July.

By year end, the company plans to cut 5,000 employees, or 10 percent of its global workforce, under a reorganization he calls Transition 2009.

The process — which merged the company’s three upstream businesses into two, expanded its downstream group and added a new projects and technology division — trimmed management ranks by 20 percent and has forced 15,000 Shell employees to re-apply for a smaller pool of jobs.

Shell officials said that reorganization will wrap up by the end of this month.

The company has been moving on a separate track with its migration programs.

The company recently told employees within its finance division that some of their jobs are being relocated from Houston and Calgary, Alberta, to “finance operations centers” in Manila and Chennai, India.

Spokesman Bill Tanner said foreign shared service centers are key to improving the finance unit’s competitiveness. “Currently, our finance operations are too complex and too costly and this is preventing the finance function from fully contributing value to the business,” he said

rigzone

Political and security issues in war-torn Iraq have been the focus of the world’s attention for more than six years. Now, the country’s oil reserves are doing the talking.

After a string of recent deals between the Iraqi government and foreign oil majors, experts believe that Iraqi oil will transform the global oil market over the course of the next decade.

Iraq’s proven reserves now stand at 115 billion barrels, third in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Iran, and as most of this reckoning is based on ageing fields, there remains huge potential for further discoveries.

Crude oil exports reached 58.2 million barrels in October this year, generating 4.19 billion dollars in revenue, according to the Oil Ministry.

Baghdad has signed deals this year with ExxonMobil, Italy’s Eni,and BP. On December 11 further deals with Royal Dutch Shell and China’s CNPC were agreed.

Robert Powell of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) believes that these contracts will have “an enormous impact” on the world market. “This is a huge amount of oil, and the increase will be beyond what has been contracted,” Powell told the German Press Agency dpa.

The deals are part of the country’s bid to breathe life into its struggling economy and energy sector. More than six years after the US-led invasion, Iraq is hoping to increase its oil output to 7 million barrels per day (bpd), nearly triple the current 2.5m bpd.

However, some analysts are sceptical about Iraq’s hopes for such a leap in production. Joerg Schindler, from the Energy Watch Group, believes that there is not enough data about oil in Iraq and that much of the current enthusiasm is based on speculation.

Existing oil fields are very old, so perhaps companies will be able to increase production – but nothing like doubling (production),” he told dpa.

In June, the first bidding for big Western oil companies since 1972 was not a resounding success – as few companies were willing to match the government’s 2 dollars-a-barrel fee.

However, the second bid is about developing fields, rebuilding pipelines and to stabilize and refurbish production. But I would not expect any near-time effect on prices,” said Powell.

He added that the EIU forecasts oil price to be around 75 dollars per barrel by the beginning of the year and for prices to fall back in 2011, unless there was an external shock.”

Attacks on an oil pipeline in Kirkuk had caused oil exports to decline in October by 4 per cent compared with the previous month. However, overall revenues were higher because of an increase in prices.

Security in Iraq remains one of the obstacles facing international companies who would like to operate there.

“(Even) with this level of violence, companies are still interested and believe they can operate in the country, said Powell.

All companies are betting on maximum level of production,” he said, arguing that when these super giants” made their deals, they increased confidence in the Iraqi oil sector.

Eugen Weinberg, a commodities expert at Commerzbank believes that land ownership, infrastructure and whether they can get legal protection are the main obstacles for companies operating in Iraq.

In spite of that, Weinberg is also optimistic that these contracts will hugely affect the global market. Production will increase massively, but this will not be seen before 5 years at least, as not all contracts were concluded,” he said.

www.rigzone.com

The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), the trade association representing offshore, marine and underwater engineering companies, has moved to new and larger offices.

Their new address is: IMCA – International Marine Contractors Association, 52 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1W 0AU, UK. Their telephone and fax numbers and email address remain unchanged – Tel: +44 (0) 20 7824 5520, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7824 5521; Email imca@imca-int.com.

“Five years in Lower Belgrave Street have seen an expansion from eight to 17 members of staff, matching the growth in membership, which has enabled a significant expansion in the association’s work programme,” explains IMCA’s Chief Executive, Hugh Williams. “Our growth has been exceptional. In October 2004 when we moved into the Lower Belgrave Street offices we had 240 members in 35 countries; now we have over 650 member companies in more than 50 countries.

“The current economic situation has enabled us to obtain more space at a competitive rent and so we moved over the weekend of 12-13 December, and have started work in our new offices on Monday (14 December). These new offices are literally across the street from the old one, with the new entrance even closer to London Victoria’s rail/tub station and excellent airport access, which is perfect for members and others visiting the secretariat for meetings.”

IMCA has four technical divisions, covering marine/specialist vessel operations, offshore diving, hydrographic survey and remote systems and ROVs, plus geographic sections for the Asia-Pacific, Central & South America, Europe & Africa, Middle East & India and North America regions. As well as a core focus on safety, the environment, competence and training. IMCA seeks to promote its members’ common interests, to resolve industry-wide issues and to provide an authoritative voice for its members.

IMCA publishes some 200 guidance notes and technical reports. These have been developed over the years and are extensively distributed. They are a definition of what IMCA stands for, including widely recognised diving and ROV codes of practice, DP documentation, marine good practice guidance, the Common Marine Inspection Document (CMID) – now available electronically as e-CMID, safety recommendation, outline training syllabi and the IMCA competence scheme guidance. In addition to the range of printed guidance documents, IMCA also produces safety promotional materials, circulates information notes and distributes safety flashes.

HOUSTON, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Deep Down, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: DPDW), today announced the signing of two contracts in excess of $4 million for work in West Africa. These contracts, for buoyancy products made by our subsidiary Flotation Technologies, Inc. and umbilical services at Deep Down’s Channelview, Texas facility, will be completed over the first half of 2010.

“We continue to support the deepwater projects in West Africa through the expansion of our product lines in these areas,” stated Ronald E. Smith, Deep Down’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “This recent string of orders, for multiple fields in West Africa, offers proof that the marketplace continues to recognize our expertise in some of the world’s most demanding environments.”

About Deep Down, Inc.

Deep Down, Inc. is an oilfield services company serving the worldwide offshore exploration and production industry. Deep Down’s proven services and technological solutions include distribution system installation support and engineering services, umbilical terminations, loose-tube steel flying leads, distributed and drill riser buoyancy, ROVs and tooling, marine vessel automation, control, and ballast systems. Deep Down supports subsea engineering, installation, commissioning, and maintenance projects through specialized, highly experienced service teams and engineered technological solutions. The company’s primary focus is on more complex deepwater and ultra-deepwater oil production distribution system support services and technologies, used between the platform and the wellhead. Deep Down provides these services through its subsidiaries. More information about Deep Down is available at www.deepdowncorp.com, by contacting the Company at (281) 517-5000, or ir@deepdowninc.com.

London, England – Acergy S.A. (NASDAQ-GS: ACGY; Oslo Stock Exchange: ACY) announced today that it has acquired the Borealis, a strategic enabler, which is expected to drive superior returns for future activity.

This differentiating asset, currently being built at the Sembawang Shipyard in Singapore, is a DP3 dynamic positioning vessel equipped with a 5,000T crane. Acergy plans to install a 1,000T J-Lay tower and state-of-the-art 600T S-Lay equipment. It will also be fitted with a range of support systems and construction equipment for worldwide deepwater and harsh environment operations. Provision will be made for accepting one of the Company’s heavy duty flexible pipelay systems.

Final completion and operational delivery of the ship is scheduled for H1 2012. Total costs, upon delivery, are expected to be less than $500m, including approximately $260m relating to the acquisition of the ship and delivery as per the original design. This investment will be funded entirely from the Company’s existing cash resources.

Jean Cahuzac, Acergy’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “The Borealis provides unprecedented flexibility and capability, which together with our engineering and project management expertise, will enable us to meet our clients’ strategic needs, particularly in deepwater and harsh environment acreage.

Our strong operating and financial position has enabled us to capitalise on this unique opportunity at an attractive price. This investment represents a key milestone in Acergy’s long-term strategy implementation. We expect this ship to be a strategic enabler to exploit future market growth opportunities and to generate superior returns for shareholders.”

HOUSTON, Dec 15, 2009 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) — Orion Marine Group, Inc. (NYSE:ORN) (the “Company”), a leading heavy civil marine contractor serving the infrastructure sector, today announced a contract award of approximately $20 million.

Orion Marine Group’s wholly owned subsidiary, Orion Construction, LP was recently awarded a contract as a subcontractor for a private sector terminal expansion in Southeast Texas. For its portion of the project the Company will provide turn-key marine construction services adding two new liquid terminal ship docks. Orion Construction’s work includes dredging of the dock area as well as heavy civil marine construction services including installing 464 linear feet of concrete trestle and pipe rack foundation, two dock platforms for hose towers and associated moorings facilities.

“This project demonstrates Orion Marine Group’s turn-key capabilities to provide dredging and marine construction services,” said Elliott Kennedy, Orion Marine Group’s Executive Vice President, Gulf Coast.

Onsite construction of the project is expected to commence during the first quarter of 2010 and last approximately 12 months.

www.orionmarinegroup.com
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About Orion Marine Group

Orion Marine Group, Inc. provides a broad range of marine construction and specialty services on, over and under the water along the Gulf Coast, the Atlantic Seaboard and the Caribbean Basin and acts as a single source turn-key solution for its customers’ marine contracting needs. Its heavy civil marine construction services include marine transportation facility construction, marine pipeline construction, marine environmental structures, dredging, and specialty services. Its specialty services include salvage, demolition, diving, surveying, towing and underwater inspection, excavation and repair. The Company is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has a 75-year legacy of successful operations.

Technip has been awarded two contracts by BP for the Schiehallion field development. The field is located in the North Sea, 175 kilometers (110 miles) west of the Shetland Islands, United Kingdom.

The first contract, which was recently completed, was on a lump sum/reimbursable basis and covered the design and manufacture of a 720 meter (2,400 feet) gas-lift flexible riser* and a 770 meter (2,500 feet) water-injection flexible riser.

The second contract, on a reimbursable basis, covers the installation of these risers, as well as pre-commissioning, tie-ins and testing.

Technip’s operating center in Aberdeen, United Kingdom, is undertaking the contracts. Both risers were manufactured in the Group’s flexible pipe plant in Le Trait, France. Offshore Installation is scheduled for the second quarter of 2010.

These awards fall under a current agreement with BP to provide diving construction services for extensions to existing hydrocarbon field development projects in the North Sea.

________________

* Riser: a pipe or assembly of pipes used to transfer produced fluids from the seabed to surface facilities.

* * *

Technip is a world leader in the fields of project management, engineering and construction for the oil & gas industry, offering a comprehensive portfolio of innovative solutions and technologies.

With 23,000 employees around the world, integrated capabilities and proven expertise in underwater infrastructures (Subsea), offshore facilities (Offshore) and large processing units and plants on land (Onshore), Technip is a key contributor to the development of sustainable solutions for the energy challenges of the 21st century.

Present in 46 countries, Technip has operating centers and industrial assets (manufacturing plants, spoolbases, construction yard) on five continents, and operates its own fleet of specialized vessels for pipeline installation and subsea construction.