First Purchase Order Received from Aker BP

RNS Number : 5890F

Plexus Holdings Plc

19 May 2017

 

Plexus Holdings PLC / Index: AIM / Epic: POS / Sector: Oil Equipment & Services

19 May 2017

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

First Purchase Order Received from Aker BP

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 it has received an initial purchase order ('PO') from Aker BP which, following the acquisition by Det norske oljeselskap ASA ('Det norske') of BP's Norwegian assets, is Norway's largest independent petroleum producer by volume.  The PO is for the supply of surface exploration wellhead equipment for the Hyrokkin and Nordfjellet standard pressure exploration wells, offshore Norway.  The initial value of of the contract is estimated at circa £0.7 million with revenues expected to commence in the next financial year in July 2017. There is the potential for the contract to be extended to include additional wells in the future. 

Aker BP operates a highly efficient drilling and well planning process to minimise overall project costs, which has resulted in recent wells being drilled in record time. For this and any subsequent wells that are to be drilled in this latest exploration project, Plexus has developed a new innovative connector called POS-SPEED™ which delivers additional time savings for the operator. This initiative further builds upon the already sizeable time savings and cost efficiencies delivered by the Company's 18-3/4" POS-GRIP through BOP surface wellhead.  Each of the wells are expected to take around 30 days to drill.  

Plexus' CEO Ben Van Bilderbeek said, "Over the years, we have enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Det norske, having been awarded a total of nine purchase orders from the leading Norwegian operator since 2012.  We are therefore delighted to have won this latest contract from the new entity Aker BP. Importantly, Plexus did not win this potentially multi-well contract based solely on our unblemished track record supplying Det norske with our best in class wellheads, but also thanks to our constant efforts to further build on and deliver the already industry-leading time, safety and cost savings our equipment offers."

**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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