Plexus Holdings PLC / Index: AIM / Epic: POS / Sector: Oil equipment & services
20 January 2016
Plexus Holdings PLC ('Plexus' or 'the Company')
New Customer Contract and Region Win for
Plexus' Tersus™ Mudline and Adjustable Rental Wellhead with Masirah Oil in Oman
Plexus Holdings PLC, the AIM quoted oil and gas engineering services business and owner of the proprietary POS-GRIP® friction-grip method of wellhead engineering, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a contract with new customer Masirah Oil Limited ('Masirah'), the Oman branch of the BVI based company and majority owned leading technology driven oil and gas company REX International Holdings Limited (REXIH: Singapore). The new contract will see Plexus supply its POS-GRIP Tersus Mudline equipment and 10,000psi adjustable rental exploration wellhead to Masirah for oil exploration offshore Oman. This contract represents a new country in a new region for Plexus and supports the Company's declared global expansion strategy which now sees Plexus operating in Asia, Oceania, EMEA and the North Sea delivering the safest, most cost effective and technically superior wellhead solutions for the oil and gas industry.
The Masirah contract is estimated to be worth approximately USD$0.6 million to Plexus. The work will commence in February 2016, initially for one well, however it is anticipated by both parties that up to a further two wells could be drilled providing the first well is successful. This contract falls under the territory of the Company's recently appointed Chinese licencing partner, Jereh Oilfield Services Group ('Jereh').
Plexus' CEO Ben Van Bilderbeek said, "This new contract in a new territory with a new customer represents another step in achieving our strategy of global expansion for Plexus and the development of our suite of POS-GRIP wellhead products at a time when the North Sea is under extreme pressure from the fall in oil prices. We secured this new business in a competitive tender process which saw our product selected for exploration drilling ahead of competing wellhead technologies for a number of reasons.
"The safety and time savings of POS-GRIP were evaluated against traditional slip and seal systems and the enhanced safety delivered by Plexus' mudline systems and surface hangers with installation through the blow out preventer, was a major consideration in our favour, as well as equipment being more economically competitive when time savings were evaluated. In addition Plexus' proven track record for support and responsiveness during the tender process was another key selling point which was acknowledged. Plexus looks forward to working with Masirah on this initial project."
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.posgrip.com or contact:
Ben van Bilderbeek |
Plexus Holdings PLC |
Tel: 020 7795 6890 |
Graham Stevens |
Plexus Holdings PLC |
Tel: 020 7795 6890 |
Nick Tulloch |
Cenkos Securities PLC |
Tel: 0131 220 9772 |
Derrick Lee |
Cenkos Securities PLC |
Tel: 0131 220 9100 |
Felicity Winkles |
St Brides Partners Ltd |
Tel: 020 7236 1177 |
Frank Buhagair |
St Brides Partners Ltd |
Tel: 020 7236 1177 |
NOTES:
Plexus Holdings PLC
Plexus Holdings PLC, which began trading on AIM in December 2005, is an oil and gas engineering and services business, which supplies wellhead and mudline suspension equipment together with associated equipment and services for exploration and production applications. Based in Aberdeen, with offices in London, Cairo, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and a presence in Houston, Texas, it has developed and patented a friction-grip method of engineering for oil and gas field wellheads and connectors, POS-GRIP®, which involves deforming one tubular member against another to effect gripping and sealing.
The Company plans to accelerate the roll out of POS-GRIP wellhead equipment as a superior alternative to current technology and for it to become the future industry standard for wellhead design. In particular, the technology has advantages in High Pressure/High Temperature (HP/HT) and Extreme HP/HT (X-HP/HT) oil and gas environments, for which there is growing global demand and where Plexus is being increasingly recognised as the supplier of choice.
To date, POS-GRIP wellhead systems have been used or selected to be used in over 350 oil and gas wells by international companies including ADTI, AGR, Apache Energy Australia, BHP Billiton, BG International, BP, Brunei Shell Petroleum, Cairn Energy, Centrica, ConocoPhillips, Dana Petroleum, Dubai Petroleum, ENI, GDF SUEZ, Global Santa Fe, Maersk, Niko Resources, Petro-Canada Trinidad & Tobago, Premier Oil Norge, Red Sea Petroleum Operating Company, Repsol, RWE, Senergy Limited, Shell China, Shell Egypt, Statoil, Silverstone Energy, Talisman Energy, Total, Tullow Oil, and Wintershall.
Importantly, the Company is focussed on extending its proprietary POS-GRIP technology into an increasing number of subsea applications. In line with this, in March 2011 the Company launched a Joint Industry Project ('JIP') initiative to develop a new subsea wellhead design, the 'Python Subsea Wellhead' utilising its friction-grip technology in collaboration with key oil and gas operators and service companies. BG, Royal Dutch Shell, Wintershall, Maersk, TOTAL, Tullow Oil, ENI, Senergy, ADTI and Oil States Industries Inc. The JIP is nearing completion with final qualification testing of all key features of the product under way, and the resultant Python Subsea Wellhead design will include a combination of key features never before seen in a subsea wellhead which include being rated to 15,000 psi, 4,000,000 pounds of 'instant' casing lockdown capacity, and importantly rigid metal annular seal technology qualified to match the performance of premium connectors. The building of a single string Python Subsea Wellhead system prototype commenced in February, and was launched at the SPE Offshore Europe Exhibition and Conference in Aberdeen ('OE2015') in September 2015.
Plexus is an innovative technology company always looking for opportunities to apply its proprietary POS-GRIP friction grip method of engineering to new products both within and outside the oil and gas industry. For example Plexus have recently completed a JIP in conjunction with Maersk to develop a downhole HPHT Tieback connector which for the first time allows the reconnection of production casing to HPHT exploration and production wells. In addition the Company has developed and qualified a new product called POS-SET Connector™ which is designed to re-establish a connection onto rough conductor casing previously cut above the seabed to facilitate tieback or abandonment operations. The market for permanent plugging and abandonment of wells is increasing in the North Sea and beyond, and could be an important new revenue stream for the Company.
