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Houston company upgrades digital solutions with new partnerships to better address energy transition

Houston-based oil and gas engineering and construction services provider McDermott is making some major software changes to better operate in the ongoing energy transition. Image via mcdermott-investors.com

A Houston engineering and construction solutions company serving the energy industry has announced an agreement that will introduce new software to the company's energy transition plans.

McDermott announced today that it has signed a lighthouse agreement with United Kingdom-based industrial software company AVEVA and Massachusetts-based product lifecycle management platform provider Aras. With the new software, McDermott plans "to develop its asset lifecycle management capability across the energy transition, oil and gas, and nuclear sectors," per the news release.

"McDermott is uniquely positioned to combine its extensive expertise in digital twin and industry-leading engineering procurement and construction (EPC) experience," Vaseem Khan, McDermott's senior vice president of Global Operations, says in the release. "The agreement represents our shared vision and commitment to data-centric digital deliverables management and creates an opportunity for robust digital transformation of industry processes."

The new technology should help reduce both cost and risk by improving decision-making, achieving better compliance and traceability, and enhancing performance.

"McDermott's engineering expertise forms an essential input in pioneering an industry solution that is urgently needed to improve outcomes in the energy, nuclear, marine, and other sectors," Rob McGreevy, chief product officer at AVEVA. "Together, we will provide competitive advantages for customers who join the lighthouse program."

The deal includes integrating Aras' Innovator platform with AVEVA Unified Engineering, AVEVA Asset Information Management, and other AVEVA tools and services to create, and McDermott will provide feedback and testing for its new software platforms.

"AVEVA's robust industry asset lifecycle management solutions, built on the Aras platform, will enable McDermott to leverage a fully connected digital thread of the asset's engineering and operations information," Roque Martin, CEO of Aras, says in the release. "We will create useful, usable, and powerful software for our joint customer base."

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A View From HETI

A new Houston battery storage facility has come online in just six weeks. Photo courtesy FlexGen

Colorado-based energy storage company SMT Energy and North Carolina-based software company FlexGen have begun operations of Houston IV, a 160-megawatt utility-scale battery storage facility that aims to support the ERCOT grid.

The companies delivered the project in just six weeks, according to a news release. Mississippi-based Irby Construction Company served as the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) partner, and CenterPoint Energy will serve as the interconnecting utility.

“FlexGen’s distinctive combination of software automation, our remote operations center, and on-the-ground field expertise all work together to accelerate battery deployment,” Jason Rislov, SVP of operations at FlexGen, said in the release. “What used to take 25-plus weeks took us six. That time saved translates directly into giving the grid and consumers what they need most right now: a more reliable, resilient energy system.”

Houston IV is one of more than 12 projects that SMT and FlexGen have built to connect to ERCOT, according to Energy Storage News.

“Bringing a 160-MW battery storage facility online in just six weeks required disciplined planning, seamless coordination, and an unwavering focus on safety and quality,” Shaun Coleman, project manager at Irby Construction, said in a news release. “The SMT Energy, FlexGen, and Irby Construction teams coordinated engineering, procurement, and construction to keep every workstream aligned, identify challenges early, and maintain safety and quality at an accelerated pace. That integration is critical, not only to delivering projects quickly, but also to ensuring battery storage facilities perform reliably over the long term.”

Houston IV is expected to store and provide enough electricity to power 8,800 homes in Texas annually. In March, SMT Energy secured $135 million in funding for the project from Macquarie and KeyBanc Capital Markets as joint lead arrangers. SMT and FlexGen broke ground to signal the start of the process in May.

In 2023, SMT Energy and joint venture partner SUSI Partners also announced plans to add 10 battery storage projects to Texas, which would double capacity from 100 megawatts to 200 megawatts in the Houston and Dallas areas.

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