BackL & T eyes fabrication work from McDermott
L & T eyes fabrication work from McDermott
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After losing the bid for the construction of 30 off-shore platforms for Saudi Arabia, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), India’s biggest engineering company, proposes to pitch for fabrication work from the winning bidder, McDermott International.
The order was placed by Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s national oil marketing firm.
Confirming the development, K. Venkataramanan, president, engineering and construction projects, and a member of the L&T board, said, “While we are looking at getting some fabrication work from McDermott International, we will definitely bid for other Saudi Aramco projects."
West Asia is a focus area for L&T due to the large number of contracts that the region offers in its hydrocarbon sector.
The seven-year contract was awarded to J. Ray McDermott, S.A., a McDermott International subsidiary, to improve Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas production capacity.
McDermott is a Texas-based engineering and construction company, with speciality manufacturing and service capabilities focused on energy infrastructure.
L&T is hopeful of getting a part of this contract as it is setting up a modular fabrication facility at Sohar port in Oman at an investment of $40 million (more than Rs160 crore).
The facility is expected to be completed by January next year, and will fabricate integrated decks from 10,000 to 20,000 tonnes, jack-up rigs and FPSOs (floating production storage and offloading vessels).
“We are quite active in the Gulf. This facility will help us bid for future Saudi Aramco projects and other projects in the region as well," Venkataramanan added.
“Worldwide, the equipment manufacturing facilities have been tied up. Having a facility in West Asia may serve as an advantage for L&T," said Ravi Mahajan, partner at accounting firm Ernst & Young.
The facility is being set up by the company’s joint venture, L&T Modular Fabrication Yard Llc., which will also be Oman’s first modular fabrication facility, and will help L&T to tap the opportunities in Africa and South Asia by producing 50,000 tonnes of finished goods per year. Zubair Corp. is its local partner.
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