MOLDE, Norway, November 20, 2025 – Axess Group has successfully delivered a full DROPS campaign on Woodside Energy’s Scarborough FPU for McDermott.

The work was carried out by the Singapore team in Yantai, China. As part of the campaign, the team conducted a pre-DROPS survey, baseline assessment, closing review, and DROPS sweep. These activities ensured the operational readiness of the FPU and full compliance with NOPSEMA regulations before its sail away to Australian waters.

The team assessed secondary retention, load paths, and redundancy, reinforcing control barriers where necessary. McDermott was also closely involved with the entire project to ensure that every risk mitigation measure is grounded in operational reality. The DROPS campaign was completed on time with zero harm to personnel.

“Our extensive experience in delivering high-quality DROPS inspections was a key factor in being entrusted with this campaign. It reflects our clients’ confidence in Axess to provide support not only during operations, but also throughout the construction and pre-delivery phases, ensuring assets are fully compliant and ready for safe operation,” Farhan Hussin, BD Manager – Asia at Axess Group said.

This campaign followed the earlier mooring analyses on the FPU, conducted in accordance with API standards, and included simulations using ANSYS AQWA.

Jonathon Daines, Project HSE Manager – Scarborough FPU at McDermott, said, “When the question came up for who to use for a professional DROPS survey prior to our FPU departure, for me, there was only ever one contender. Axess has proven itself on numerous projects to perform to the highest of standards in what are often very challenging conditions. And I am very pleased to say that they have once again succeeded in meeting our expectations. The work that Axess has completed will affirm that the Scarborough FPU will remain a safe working environment, in terms of potential dropped objects, for our client’s personnel in an operating environment for many years to come.”

The Scarborough FPU is one of the largest semi-submersible floating facilities ever built in the world. In designing the FPU, McDermott has reduced the operational emissions of the facility by approximately 15%. The FPU is a centrepiece of the Scarborough Energy Project, which is set to produce up to 8 million tonnes of LNG per year and contribute up to 225 terajoules a day of domestic gas supply into the Western Australian market.

Header photo: © McDermott