McDermott has dispatched the 4,600-tonne topsides for Shell‘s Manatee offshore gas project from its Altamira Fabrication Yard in Mexico. The structure is being transported to Trinidad and Tobago for offshore installation.
According to the Altamira Port Authority, fabrication was completed on 23 September 2026. The topsides measure 60.5 m in length, 51.8 m in width and 71.1 m in height, excluding the flare system.
The project involves separate fabrication activities in Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago. While the topsides were built at McDermott‘s Altamira yard, the jacket was fabricated by Trinidad Offshore Fabricators Company (TOFCO) at the La Brea Industrial Estate. According to La Brea Industrial Development Company (LABIDCO), the jacket’s Row C section and associated piles were loaded out at the Port of Brighton on 14 September 2026.
McDermott secured the engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract for the Manatee development in August 2024, covering the offshore platform, jacket and associated infrastructure.
Located approximately 100 km off the southeast coast of Trinidad and Tobago, the Manatee gas field is wholly owned by Shell. The development is expected to begin production in 2027, with peak output estimated at 604 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.
