Mahesh Swaminathan, McDermott Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd’s senior commercial director for Asia, said the national oil and gas company had recently said it would invest in projects worth RM55 billion.
“We hope we will be able to get a good share of that … We want to serve them not only here but wherever they are,” he told a media briefing here today.
Petronas was reported as saying that it would spend around RM55 billion in 2018 on capital expenditure with a higher commitment to upstream development.
Echoing this, Mahesh said, Malaysia was among the countries the company was bidding for projects, namely, in the offshore, subsea, deepsea and shallow waters.
Besides Malaysia, Mahesh said McDermott would also bid for projects in India, Australia, Vietnam and Indonesia.
“Altogether, there are about 20 projects that we are bidding for in the next six months and they are worth US$5 billion,” he said.
Meanwhile, McDermott Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd vice-president Ian Prescott said the company saw a very strong potential for business expansion in Malaysia and the region.
“We will utilise our key engineering hub here and the region to materialise the potential and execute the jobs when they are won,” he said.
The bid pipeline has increased compared with US$4 billion six months ago, he said.
Prescott said McDermott, in Malaysia, was well-positioned for future growth in terms of capability and presence in the region with investments in Amazon for deepwater projects; digital technology to modernise engineering services; and, the merger of its parent company, McDermott Int, with Chicago Bridge and Iron Company NV, last year to expand into onshore offering.
McDermott Asia in Kuala Lumpur has already increased its staff from 90 in 2016 to 500 now and it is expected to reach 800 people by year-end.
Its order book currently stands between US$1.5-US$2 billion and this will keep it busy until 2022.