McDermott, Schneider Electric and io consulting Join Forces to Develop Net Zero Upstream Facilities

HOUSTON, LONDON and RUEIL-MALMAISON, France, Oct. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- McDermott International, Ltd, Schneider Electric and io consulting today announced a collaboration to advance research and design of carbon-neutral facilities for the upstream oil and natural gas market. The three companies will combine their capabilities and resources to explore and develop a proof of concept based on an offshore platform reference case. The result of the collaboration will be published in a joint study on Net Zero Upstream Facilities before the end of the year.

The study defines a hierarchy of emissions-reduction technologies, ranked by maturity, investment and impact to enable operators to make informed decisions when prioritizing areas for emissions reduction.

"This unique venture demonstrates the valuable intersection of thought leadership, digital innovation and project excellence to advance the energy transition across the globe," said Samik Mukherjee, McDermott's Group Senior Vice President, Projects. "By combining our individual strengths, we will deliver solutions that enable our customers to accelerate the industry-shared goal of reducing carbon impact throughout the production chain."

The program directly supports a significant carbon footprint reduction within the production and transformation of oil and gas, which, according to the International Energy Agency, is about fifteen percent of the entire oil and gas carbon footprint.

"We are in an energy transition and while hydrocarbons will be required for decades, it is incumbent upon us to decarbonise their production," said Richard Dyson, CEO of io consulting. "This study will show what can be achieved when we leverage the technical data and expertise of our parent companies, Baker Hughes and McDermott, and come together with the best minds in the industry to address this challenge. I look forward to working with our customers to deploy new standard practices for net zero facilities and transferring our learnings to other industries striving to reduce their carbon footprint."

The companies expect the collaboration to demonstrate what is achievable with current technology, what new technologies are required and identify break-even carbon pricing to make the net zero facilities viable now and in the future. The team will adapt this proof of concept to any geographical region and project, considering local infrastructure and environmental policies regarding carbon pricing.  

"This partnership aligns with Schneider Electric's objectives around sustainability and energy transition," said Chris Dartnell, President of Oil & Gas and Petrochemicals at Schneider Electric. "We bring our expertise in both energy and process efficiency to the industry. Our goal is to help customers ensure their future systems support remote operations, optimized asset performance and breakthrough micro-grid management. We believe our partnership facilitates overall digital transformation for our clients—making their operations more sustainable."

The study applies a decision-quality framework to identify credible and achievable methods for achieving carbon neutrality including: power import and electrification; renewable micro-grids; integration with hydrogen networks; integrated energy storage; reduction of fugitive emissions; removal of flare systems; facility de-manning and access method; facility monitoring and control – remote operation; engineered offsetting methods (excluding nature-based offsetting); and digital transformation of design and operations.

About McDermott
McDermott is a premier, fully integrated provider of engineering and construction solutions to the energy industry. Our customers trust our technology-driven approach to design and build infrastructure solutions to responsibly transport and transform oil and gas into the products the world needs today. From concept to commissioning, our expertise and comprehensive solutions deliver certainty, innovation and added value to energy projects around the world. It is called the "One McDermott Way." Operating in over 54 countries, McDermott's locally focused and globally integrated resources include more than 30,000 employees, a diversified fleet of specialty marine construction vessels and fabrication facilities around the world. To learn more, visit www.mcdermott.com

About io consulting
io consulting is a strategic development consultancy created to provide greater certainty and higher decision quality to operators and help bring more hydrocarbons and energy transition projects to sanction by disrupting traditional approaches. io is unique with its integrated strategic-techno-commercial capabilities ensuring a balanced approach between commercial, technical and strategic priorities capitalising on multi-discipline capabilities in subsurface, drilling, subsea, marine, facilities, decommissioning/life extension and environmental alongside economic modelling. We are a joint venture between Baker Hughes and McDermott and are unique in having their know-how, expertise and data 'hard coded' into our DNA. For powerful thinking, visit www.ioconsulting.com.

About Schneider Electric:
Schneider's purpose is to empower all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. We call this Life Is On. Our mission is to be your digital partner for Sustainability and Efficiency. We drive digital transformation by integrating world-leading process and energy technologies, end-point to cloud connecting products, controls, software and services, across the entire lifecycle, enabling integrated company management, for homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries. We are the most local of global companies. We are advocates of open standards and partnership ecosystems that are passionate about our shared Meaningful Purpose, Inclusive and Empowered values. www.se.com.

McDermott Contacts:
Investor Relations
Kevin Hargrove
Vice President and Treasurer
+1 281 870 5569
[email protected]

Global Media Relations
Reba Reid
Senior Director, Global Communications and Marketing
+1 281 588 5636
[email protected]

Schneider Electric Contact:
Anthime Caprioli
[email protected]

io Contact:
Phil Penfold
[email protected]

SOURCE McDermott International, Inc.