First Production Well Order with Centrica

RNS Number : 6316R

Plexus Holdings Plc

25 September 2017

 

Plexus Holdings PLC / Index: AIM / Epic: POS / Sector: Oil equipment & services

25 September 2017

Plexus Holdings PLC ('Plexus' or 'the Company')

First Production Well Order with Centrica

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, known for its safety, time and cost saving capabilities, is pleased to announce it has been awarded a contract with Centrica North Sea Limited ('Centrica') to supply its POS-GRIP "HG" 10,000psi adjustable production wellhead for a gas production well in the UK Southern North Sea.  Plexus has previously supplied Centrica with its best in class wellhead equipment for a number of exploration wells in the North Sea, but this contract represents the first order it has been awarded by Centrica for a production well.

The Centrica purchase order is in line with the Company's strategy to extend the application of its POS-GRIP technology beyond jack-up exploration, where it has been used on over 300 wells. Although Plexus has previously supplied its wellheads for production wells, including on the BP Amethyst gas field in the Southern North Sea in 2006, it has not to date been a main area of focus even, though the size of the market is many times that of jack-up exploration.   

Under the terms of the contract, Plexus will supply Centrica with its 18-3/4" 10,000 psi wellhead and manage the interface with an existing production Xmas tree.  In addition, the Company's Tersus CS casing support system and associated running tools and services will also be supplied to Centrica, and well integrity will be enhanced as the adjustable nature of POS-GRIP allows downhole casing support to be used without casing adjustment subs to space out to the wellhead. The well will enhance production from the Chiswick platform in the UK Southern North Sea, and is due to spud around April 2018.

This order extends Plexus' good working relationship with Centrica with whom it has a four-year framework contract in place (see announcement of 9 January 2017), and demonstrates the Company's ability to deliver a suitable system within the specified time frame.

Plexus' CEO Ben Van Bilderbeek said, "We are delighted to have secured a first order for a production well with Centrica.  Plexus is an IP led company and our business model has always been centred on first proving the superior qualities of our proprietary POS-GRIP technology in terms of performance, reliability and safety in the jack-up exploration market, where wells are temporary in nature, before moving into other markets such as production, where wellheads are required for the entire field life of the well.  Our technology has to date been used on over 400 jack-up exploration wells by a blue-chip roster of operators including Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil, BP and Centrica many of whom have become long-standing customers of Plexus. 

"We are now in addition looking to achieve the same success in other applications where we have a suite of POS-GRIP products that are available for deployment or will be developed such as subsea, geothermal and fracking.  I look forward to providing further updates on our progress, as we look to realise the full potential of our innovative and superior technology which is particularly suitable for gas applications which is becoming increasingly important as an energy source when compared to coal and oil."   

**ENDS**

For further information please visit www.posgrip.com or contact:

Ben van Bilderbeek	Plexus Holdings PLC	Tel: [phone]
Graham Stevens	Plexus Holdings PLC	Tel: [phone]
Nick Tulloch	Cenkos Securities PLC	Tel: [phone]
Derrick Lee	Cenkos Securities PLC	Tel: [phone]
Frank Buhagiar	St Brides Partners Ltd	Tel: [phone]
Isabel de Salis	St Brides Partners Ltd	Tel: [phone]

NOTES:

Plexus Holdings PLC is an AIM traded 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 a presence in London, Cairo, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and 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.

To date, POS-GRIP® wellhead systems have been used in over 400 oil and gas wells by numerous international companies.  In particular, the technology has advantages in High Pressure/High Temperature (HPHT) and Extreme HPHT (X-HPHT) oil and gas environments, for which there is growing global demand and where Plexus is being increasingly recognised as the supplier of choice.  Plexus has recently successfully completed the supply of an X-HPHT exploration wellhead to Total for the Solaris well which is believed to be the deepest and highest pressure well ever drilled in the North Sea.

Plexus is also extending its technology into an increasing number of other applications:

·     In September 2015 it launched a prototype of the 'Python™ Subsea Wellhead' developed as part of a Joint Industry Project in collaboration with BG, Royal Dutch Shell, Wintershall, Maersk, TOTAL, Tullow Oil, ENI, LR Senergy, Transocean and Oil States Industries Inc. 

·     It recently also 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

·     It 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

Having proven its POS-GRIP technology in the niche jack-up exploration market Plexus is now focused on extending its applications into the much larger multi-billion dollar land and platform production well market as well as actively pursuing a first time use of the new Python subsea wellhead into the important subsea sector. Such strategic initiatives will be pursued both organically and with trading partners and licencees.

 

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