Pent up demand provides high growth opportunities for offshore oil and gas construction specialist McDermott International Inc. both in the Middle East and globally, the company's chief executive officer said. "I would say that the opportunities for growth in the next 3 to 5 years are significantly high for McDermott and the offshore industry," Stephen Johnson said at the opening of the company's new engineering office in Al-Khobar with Saudi partner Khalid Al-Shoaibi. "The economic crisis of 2008-2009…developed some pent up demand for projects. So we see in this region as well as other parts of the world opportunities," Johnson said. Until the end of the year, the growth outlook was steady, he said and added that he expected the company to make about $3.5 billion in revenues this year. "We expect to bring new work in to allow us to sustain that level and hopefully grow it but that is all dependent on what we are able to win." Johnson said some of the easier hydrocarbon discoveries have already been made. "The more difficult seem to be moving offshore in the Middle East and other parts of the world." The US-based company is building offshore platforms and a subsea pipeline in Saudi Aramco's first non-associated gas field Karan, from where the pipeline will carry the sour gas for processing at Khursaniyah plant onshore.
