MDR McDermott International Inc

McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE:MDR) announced today that its subsidiary, The Babcock & Wilcox Company (�B&W�), has received a contract valued at more than $250 million from American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP), for its Southwestern Electric Power Company (�SWEPCO�) subsidiary, to design, supply and erect a 600-megawatt (�MW�) net coal-fired boiler and environmental control equipment for Unit 1 at the John W. Turk, Jr. Power Plant, a new baseload power plant in Hempstead County, Ark., about 15 miles northeast of Texarkana, Ark. The plant will burn Power River Basin coal and will feature advanced, ultra-supercritical clean coal combustion technology. It will be one of the first plants of its kind to go into operation in the U.S. Ultra-supercritical generation is an efficient, pulverized coal technology that requires less coal per megawatt and creates fewer emissions than with a traditional, coal-fired unit. These units operate at higher temperatures and pressures which increases overall plant efficiency. B&W's project scope includes the engineering, design, supply and installation of a 600 MW net pulverized coal-fired spiral wound universal pressure boiler, a selective catalytic reduction system, a dry flue gas desulfurization system, pulse jet fabric filter and associated auxiliary equipment. Engineering has already begun at B&W�s headquarters in Barberton, Ohio. All pressure parts will be fabricated by B&W�s joint venture, Babcock & Wilcox Beijing Company, Ltd., in China. Pending regulatory approval for the plant, Babcock & Wilcox Construction Co., Inc. will begin construction activities in 2008. The unit is scheduled for commercial operation by the summer of 2011. �AEP is a strong proponent of clean coal technology as well as a long-term B&W customer, so we are extremely pleased to be selected for this award,� said Brandon Bethards, president of B&W�s Fossil Power Group. �We appreciate AEP�s confidence in our technology and in our project management and construction capabilities, and we look forward to working with them to bring this new plant online.� American Electric Power is one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to more than five million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation�s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 36,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. Its SWEPCO subsidiary serves 454,000 customers in three states: 112,000 in western Arkansas, 174,000 in Northwest Louisiana, and 168,000 in East Texas. McDermott is an engineering and construction company, with specialty manufacturing and service capabilities, 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 20,000 employees, and can be found on the internet at www.mcdermott.com. 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 value, work scope and timing associated with the John W. Turk, Jr. Power Plant. 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 change orders and other modifications to contracts. If one or more of these risks materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected. For a more complete discussion of these risk factors, please see McDermott�s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.