Seatrade Maritime is part of the Informa Markets Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

Nakilat-Keppel and McDermott combine for Qatar offshore projects

Nakilat-Keppel and McDermott combine for Qatar offshore projects
Nakilat-Keppel Offshore Marine (N-KOM) will provide fabrication services to an exclusive co-operation agreement with McDermott International to pursue offshore projects within Qatari waters.

N-KOM, the shipyard subsidiary of Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat), has signed a five-year MoU with Houston-headquartered engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) services provider McDermott.

McDermott will serve as prime contractor to customers and lead engineering with its teams based at Jebel Ali in Dubai as well as its Global Engineering Centre in Chennai, India, where necessary. It will also lead procurement and installation with vessels mobilised from its 13-strong global marine fleet.

N-KOM, a joint venture between Nakilat and leading offshore rig constructor and ship repairer Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd, will serve as subcontractor and perform fabrication from its Erhama Bin Jaber Al Jalahma Shipyard in Ras Laffan Industrial City 80km north of Doha.

“We are pleased to partner with McDermott, one of the leading EPCI contractors in this region, to enhance our standing as a premier marine and offshore service provider in Qatar,” said Eng. Abdullah Fadhalah Al Sulaiti, md of Nakilat. “N-KOM has delivered several offshore construction projects, including a newly built liftboat. This agreement will add value to our services in this area to better support the local oil and gas industry in Qatar.”

With a fleet of 63 LNG carriers, Nakilat transports some 77m tons of LNG annually for state-owned gas producers RasGas and Qatargas to global markets from Qatar’s North Field - world’s largest non-associated gas field with approximately 15% of the world’s proven reserves. McDermott, meanwhile, has fabricated more than 80% of the North Field gas infrastructure.

“Through this exclusive agreement, McDermott and Keppel build upon our long-standing relationship to combine each company’s strengths to benefit our clients in Qatar and increase Qatari local content,” said Linh Austin, McDermott’s vp, Middle East.

“With both our Dubai- and Saudi-based facilities, McDermott is well positioned to address the continued growth for the entire Middle East market. And now with this cooperative agreement, we have an even higher level of capacity and availability.”