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| POSCO International CEO Kim Young-sang, seated right, and McDermott CEO David Dickson, seated left, pose after signing a contract in the U.S. Saturday (local time) on front-end engineering design services for the phase three development of POSCO International's Myanmar gas field project. Courtesy of POSCO International |
By Nam Hyun-woo
POSCO International has signed a design deal with McDermott International of the U.S. for the phase three development of its gas field project in Myanmar, the company said Sunday.
POSCO International CEO Kim Young-sang and McDermott CEO David Dickson signed the contract on front-end engineering design (FEED) services for the final stage development of the Shwe Project.
The contract came weeks after POSCO International named McDermott and Hyundai Heavy Industries in October as FEED contractors for the phase three development.
The value of the contract has not been disclosed.
McDermott and Hyundai Heavy will work on basic designs for a new compression platform, bridge links between platforms and make modifications to the existing platform for the project. After finishing the basic designing, POSCO International will choose one of them as the contractor in charge of engineering, procurement, construction, installation and project commissioning next year.
POSCO International started the multi-field offshore gas project in 2000 in waters near the Bay of Bengal and started commercial production in 2013.
Of three fields in the project ― Shwe, Shwe Phyu and Mya ― POSCO developed the Shwe and Mya fields in phase one and is working on phase two development of the Shwe and Shwe Phyu fields. In phase two, Shwe is expected to begin commercial gas production in 2021, followed by Shwe Phyu in 2022.
The project has been a cash cow for POSCO International, whose main business is trading. In the third quarter of this year, the company logged 163.3 billion won ($141.1 million) in operating profit, up 135.7 percent from a year earlier, thanks to the revenue from the Myanmar project. POSCO International sold an average 590 million cubic feet of gas a day during the third quarter.
"After the phase three development, POSCO International will expedite its efforts to complete a value chain covering production, liquefaction and transportation of liquefied natural gas," a POSCO International official said.
