PRESS RELEASE: February 13, 2006

J. Ray McDermott Awarded Two Contracts Offshore Saudi Arabia

McDermott International, Inc. (NYSE:MDR) (?McDermott?) announced today that a subsidiary of J. Ray McDermott, S.A. (?J. Ray?) has been awarded two contracts by Al-Khafji Joint Operations (?KJO?) to provide engineering, procurement, construction and installation services for KJO developments in the Arabian Gulf.

The first contract is for an integrated wellhead jacket (?IWJ?) in the Al-Khafji oil field offshore Saudi Arabia. For the second contract, J. Ray will support the expansion of KJO?s loading facilities in the offshore Neutral Zone between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Combined, projects of this type are typically valued at over $50 million.

?This is a great opportunity to again offer KJO our integrated capabilities in carrying out their latest field development projects,? said Bob Deason, President and Chief Operating Officer of J. Ray McDermott, S.A. ?This will be the fourth wellhead jacket that J. Ray has recently undertaken for KJO. In October 2004, J. Ray successfully completed the fabrication and installation facilities of two integrated wellhead jackets ahead of schedule.?

The new IWJ wellhead platform, weighing approximately 1,100 metric tons, will be fabricated at J. Ray?s Jebel Ali yard under a fully integrated project management team. Under the terms of the loading facilities expansion contract, J. Ray will undertake detailed design, procurement, and construction of an 8km 36? diameter pipeline and a 5.5km 13.8Kv submarine cable. The project also involves the replacement of a 48" manifold to accommodate the new 36" topside piping, including new 36" and 48" motorized operated valves. The expansion project will also include design and installation of an offshore loading control system.

KJO is joint venture between Aramco Gulf Operations Company Ltd. and Kuwait Gulf Oil Company.

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 the typical value of these projects. 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.

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