Baker Hughes, McDermott Safely Complete Subsea Infrastructure in Northern Australia

Baker Hughes, an energy technology company, and McDermott, a premier engineering and construction company, have announced the safe completion of the installation of subsea infrastructure at the Ichthys field in northern Australia.

Awarded to the Baker Hughes and McDermott consortium in 2019 by INPEX Operations Australia P/L (INPEX), the subsea infrastructure development project included engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of umbilicals, risers and flowlines (URF), a subsea production system comprised of a new 7-inch (approximately 18 centimeters) vertical Christmas tree (VXT) system, all forming a subsea well gathering system (GS4) tied back to the existing Ichthys Explorer central processing facility. The consortium’s scope of work also included an in-fill URF EPCI involving the development of new subsea wells tied into the existing gathering systems.

“The McDermott and Baker Hughes partnership has been marked by resilience and adaptability, guided by our firm commitment to deliver for the INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG and Australia,” said Mahesh Swaminathan, McDermott’s senior vice president, Subsea and Floating Facilities. “Together, leveraging McDermott’s unique end-to-end EPCI capabilities and Baker Hughes’ subsea development solutions, we navigated project complexities and overcame the unique challenges posed by the pandemic. Our hard work paid off, and I would like to thank our teams in Perth, Batam, and beyond, whose collective efforts enabled the safe completion of this important work scope.”

“This milestone has been achieved through the successful partnership between Baker Hughes and McDermott to execute for INPEX,” said Romain Chambault, Baker Hughes senior vice president, Subsea Projects and Services. “The amount of collaboration shown between the consortium has been truly unique and serves as an industry benchmark for the successful execution of large, complex EPCI subsea projects. Manufacturing the highly complex 7-inch VXT from our dedicated facility in Batam has expanded the global capability for Baker Hughes in the Asia Pacific region, where we are well-positioned to support customers with a strong regional capability, complemented by a strong McDermott presence in Batam and the region as a whole.”