B&W to supply scrubbers at Michigan plant

Detroit Edison FGD Project advances flue gas desulfurization at Monroe, with B&W scrubbers, absorber island, outlet flues, SO2 emissions control, a 580-foot chimney, control systems, and McDermott backlog inclusion for power generation infrastructure.

McDermott International, Inc., announced that one of its subsidiaries, Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group, Inc. B&W, has signed a contract worth approximately $90 million to design, engineer, procure and construct wet flue gas desulfurization FGD systems, commonly called scrubbers, for two 825 megawatt units at Detroit Edison Company’s Monroe Power Plant in Monroe, Michigan.

The value of this project will be included in McDermott’s Power Generation Systems segment backlog for the first quarter of 2010, similar to a contract award at Coleson Cove reported elsewhere.

B&W's full scope of supply includes the absorber island, piping, outlet flues and other associated equipment. B&W also designed and installed scrubbers for the control of sulfur dioxide emissions on the Monroe plant’s two other units, which began successful operation last year. The B&W contract is a component of Detroit Edison’s overall FGD project, which is estimated to cost about $600 million and includes construction of a new 580-foot chimney, a building to house the absorber system, installation of control systems and construction of additional infrastructure.

“We’re committed to providing our customers with effective, economical solutions to comply with more stringent state and federal clean air standards,” said Richard L. Killion, President and Chief Operating Officer of Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group, Inc. PGG. “B&W has a reputation in the power generation industry as a leader in flue gas desulfurization and other important emissions control technologies, and we’re proud to offer products and services that live up to that reputation.”

Engineering is underway at B&W PGG’s Barberton, Ohio headquarters, amid other Ohio hydroelectric projects progressing statewide. Monroe Unit 1’s wet FGD system is scheduled for start-up in the fall of 2013. Unit 2 is scheduled for a spring 2014 start-up.

McDermott is an engineering and construction company, with specialty manufacturing and service capabilities, including control upgrades, focused on energy infrastructure. McDermott’s customers are predominantly utilities and other power generators, major and national oil companies, and the United States Government. With its global operations, McDermott operates in over 20 countries with more than 25,000 employees.

In accordance with the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, McDermott International, Inc. cautions that statements in this press release which are forward-looking and provide other than historical information involve risks and uncertainties that may impact McDermott’s actual results of operations. The forward-looking statements in this press release include, among other things, the expected value, scope, execution, and timing associated with this project and potential cost updates during development.

Although McDermott’s management believes that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, McDermott can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Those statements are made based on various underlying assumptions and are subject to numerous uncertainties and risks, including without limitation, changes in project design or schedules, contract cancellations, change orders and other modifications, or necessary plant update filings made by utilities, and difficulties executing on the project. If one or more of these risks materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected.

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