PRESS RELEASE: December 20, 2005

J. Ray McDermott to Fabricate Additional Structures for Saudi Aramco

McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE:MDR) (?McDermott?) announced today that subsidiaries of J. Ray McDermott, S.A. (?J. Ray?) have been awarded additional work by Saudi Aramco to fabricate, transport, and install 16 additional jackets for the Maintain Potential project for the Berri, Marjan, Maharah, Safaniya, and Zuluf fields, offshore Saudi Arabia. The work is an extension to the contract J. Ray was awarded in August to fabricate and install five wellhead platforms for the Maintain Potential project.

?The facilities cater to Aramco?s accelerated drilling and production efforts in the region,? said Bob Deason, President and Chief Operating Officer of J. Ray. ?We are pleased to be awarded this contract extension, based on our proven track record of quality services.?

Under the contract, J. Ray will perform construction engineering, partial procurement and fabrication of the jackets and drill decks at its Jebel Ali yard. The project will be carried out in two phases, the first of which is scheduled for completion in October 2006. During this phase J. Ray will carry out fabrication, transportation, and installation of 11 jackets with four 42? diameter piles in each jacket.

The second phase will involve construction of the remaining five jackets. The contract completion is scheduled for July 2007. The offshore installation work will be shared between J. Ray?s marine vessels DB27 and DB26.

McDermott International, Inc. is a leading worldwide energy services company. McDermott subsidiaries provide engineering, fabrication, installation, procurement, research, manufacturing, environmental systems, project management and facility management services to a variety of customers in the energy and power industries, including the U.S. Department of Energy. Additional information on McDermott can be obtained 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 work scope and associated expected timing of completion. 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 for the year ended December 31, 2004 and its 2005 quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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EIB 1768

12/20/05

For more information, please contact:

Louise Denly
Director, Public Relations
J. Ray McDermott, Inc.
Houston, TX
(281) 870-5000
E-Mail:ldenly@mcdermott.com
www.mcdermott.com