McDermott makes Ghana hub of Africa
International offshore oil and gas engineering company, McDermott, has expressed its interest to strengthen its presence and activities in Ghana from where it will drive its expansion into the rest of Africa.
Advertisement
The company, which provides a complete offshore value chain services from engineering, procurement, construction and installation services for upstream field developments worldwide, said it saw opportunities in Ghana’s oil sector and was ready to maintain its presence in the country for the long haul.
With over 90 years’ experience in offshore engineering operations, McDermott, which had been in Africa for about 15 years, was now ready to develop new markets in Africa and Europe with Ghana as the hub of Africa, the Vice-President of McDermott International for Europe and Africa, Mr Ian Grainger, told section of the media in Accra.
The local operations, known as McDermott Marine Construction Ghana Ltd (MMCGL) — a joint venture with a Ghanaian partner — had wanted to leverage its international expertise to support the development and growth of Ghana’s offshore oil and gas activities.
“The fields are going ahead and they need to be expanded with additional facilities which we will be interested in. TEN is coming on-stream but ultimately it has to have some expansion; we will track that.
The arrival of McDermott in Ghana’s oil and gas industry is good for both deepening competition and bringing on board rich knowledge and experience in the sector.
Mr Grainger said the company had already submitted bids to a number of projects in Ghana and was poised to expand its operations and train local human resource to optimise its international experience.
Here for the long haul
The company was prepared to establish fabrication centres in Ghana to manufacture some of the equipment for its clients in Ghana and other African countries.
“We are monitoring the market. We are talking to the clients and evaluating what projects are going to go ahead. If the market justifies, we could do more work in the country and that could be engineering, it could be fabrication, it could be more logistics. So we will look to expand as the market expands effectively,” Mr Grainger stated.
The Vice-President of McDermott International said the company was here for the long haul and had no intentions of pulling out even in risky periods and explained that there were good opportunities that they were bidding for in Ghana and Angola, which are long-term projects.
He said he was hopeful that the oil price would recover to support the company’s growth in the country and for the long-term.
In spite of the oil price slump, McDermott has reported very strong financial performance for 2015.
The New York Stock Exchange-listed company, with $3.7 billion orders and $3.1 billion in revenues, boasts a strong balance sheet to support its growth and expansion into Africa and Europe.
The company’s cash flow improved from $48 million to $55 million for last year, an indication of its strong financial muscle, which is necessary for the type of business it does.