McDermott opens welding and technology center in Dubai

McDermott has opened a new welding and technology center of excellence for research, development and qualification. The facility is located at the Oilfields Supply Center in Dubai's Jebel Ali Freezone. It encompasses over 4,100 square meters (sqm) of office and workshop space and capacity for 250 personnel.

The new premises will streamline McDermott's global pipeline development and qualification expertise to provide a purpose built, single point of execution for customer and project-focused activities.

"This facility houses our Pipeline Production Group and secures our position as an industry leader in subsea pipeline fabrication and installation," said Mike Sutherland, McDermott's Senior Vice President, Offshore Middle East. "The centralization of our expertise will springboard the development of world-leading pipeline fabrication and qualification processes and technologies. Furthermore, it enables us to better service our projects and customers around the globe through increased efficiency, cost reduction and predictability of performance."

The center will deliver the full suite of welding, pipeline coating, non-destructive testing, equipment management, production simulation, and targeted research and development initiatives. It will also offer innovative technical solutions for McDermott's global pipeline projects using vessel simulation capabilities. This includes a full S-Lay line up and firing line simulation area, and a J-Lay rotating table for vertical pipelay. This technology enables remote intervention of McDermott's pipelay vessel fleet and can also be used to simulate environments for training purposes to increase safety and realize efficiencies.