On August 24, 2026, international ocean engineering company McDermott announced that it had been awarded a $1 billion offshore EPCI contract by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. The project belongs to the fourth section of the Umm Shaif oil and gas field comprehensive gas cap development and ground boosting project. The scope of work includes the construction of new offshore boosting facilities, pipeline racks, upper modules, and the renovation of existing facilities. After the project is completed, its upper module will become one of the heaviest offshore modules installed in the Middle East region. It is worth noting that the core manufacturing work is undertaken by the joint team of McDermott and Qingdao McDermott Wuchang, and the manufacturing location is in Qingdao. A project in Abu Dhabi involves manufacturing important modules in Qingdao, while Chinese manufacturing is deeply involved in large-scale projects in the Middle East in a collaborative manner.

Contract worth over 1 billion US dollars landed

According to McDermott's classification, the Mega contract implies a project value exceeding $1 billion. The project belongs to the fourth section of the Umm Shaif oil and gas field comprehensive gas cap development and ground boosting project. The scope of work includes the construction of new offshore boosting facilities, pipeline racks, upper modules, and the renovation of existing facilities. The project engineering design and management will be completed in the United Arab Emirates, while the core manufacturing work will be undertaken by the joint team of McDermott and Qingdao McDermott Wuchang. After the completion of the project, its upper module will become one of the heaviest offshore modules installed in the Middle East, with a contract amount exceeding 1 billion US dollars, reflecting the comprehensive value of offshore oil and gas development projects in terms of technology, equipment, and engineering management.

Qingdao Manufacturing Showcases Cluster Strength

The project places key manufacturing processes in Qingdao, indicating that Chinese manufacturing has strong comprehensive delivery capabilities in the field of large-scale ocean engineering. The customer has chosen not only a manufacturing site, but an industrial cluster that can safely deliver tens of thousands of tons of complex modules according to international standards. The manufacturing of large-scale offshore engineering modules tests a comprehensive set of capabilities, including engineering design, material procurement, complex welding, module construction, non-destructive testing, anti-corrosion construction, equipment installation, pipeline prefabrication, electrical and instrumentation integration, quality traceability, safety management, and ultimately sea freight hoisting. Qingdao McDermott Wuchang is McDermott's manufacturing base in China, with complete offshore manufacturing facilities and an experienced engineering team. Qingdao and its surrounding areas have formed a complete marine industry chain covering steel, mechanical processing, painting, welding, testing, equipment installation, engineering logistics, and port transportation.

Release order window in collaborative mode

This project adopts the UAE management and Qingdao manufacturing model, indicating that the common collaborative mode for large-scale Middle Eastern projects in the future has taken shape. The Middle East is responsible for market, owner relations, and local coordination, global engineering companies are responsible for project general contracting and system integration, and the Chinese manufacturing base is responsible for high difficulty and large-scale core manufacturing. Whoever enters this collaborative system will be able to share the orders brought by Middle Eastern energy investment. Large scale offshore engineering projects are usually broken down into a large number of procurement packages and subcontracting contracts, involving steel and special structural components, pipeline fittings and flanges, valves and pressure equipment, cable trays and distribution equipment, marine anti-corrosion coatings, fireproof coatings and insulation materials, fasteners and welding materials, testing instruments and safety equipment, module transportation and engineering logistics, etc. Keywords: Middle East News Network, Offshore Natural Gas, International

Chinese companies that want to enter this market need to find McDermott, Qingdao manufacturing base, and their primary and secondary supply chain enterprises. For the paint industry, marine engineering projects require a complete system consisting of primer, intermediate paint, topcoat, fireproof layer, insulation layer, and surface treatment process. However, suppliers need to enter the qualified list, products meet project technical specifications, and the construction process has complete inspection and traceability documents. The first step for Chinese manufacturing companies to participate in the Middle East may be to join the supply chain of international general contracting companies in China, complete qualified products in Qingdao, obtain recognition through project performance, and then enter more projects in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman. The most important thing for large-scale engineering projects is always verified delivery records.Editor/Gao Xue