Framework Agreement Signed with Jereh

RNS Number : 5004I

Plexus Holdings Plc

26 March 2015

 



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

Framework Agreement Signed in Beijing with Yantai Jereh Oilfield Services Group Co., Ltd.

Plexus Holdings plc, the AIM quoted oil and gas engineering services business and owner of the proprietary POS-GRIP® method of wellhead engineering, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Framework Agreement ('the Agreement') with Yantai Jereh Oilfield Services Group Co., Ltd. ('Jereh'), the major Chinese oil services provider of integrated solutions of oilfield equipment and services, and the two parties will now work together to formalise a binding license agreement to enable Jereh to manufacture and sell Plexus' wellhead equipment to the Chinese and wider Asian oil and gas markets. Jereh is a public company listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange with a market capitalisation of over US $5.8bn and 5,000 employees.

The Agreement remains subject to legally binding agreements ("Binding Agreements") being finalised and signed. It is envisaged that the Binding Agreements will include the following terms:

·    Plexus will grant to Jereh an exclusive licence in China and other designated Asian territories to enable Jereh to manufacture and supply Plexus' products utilising Plexus' trademarks, patents, technology, know-how, engineering, standards and other intellectual property and technical services of Plexus.

·    Jereh (or a wholly-owned affiliate of Jereh) will subscribe for new ordinary shares in the Company (the "Subscription"), such that Jereh would be interested in 5 per cent. of the enlarged issued share capital of Plexus, at a price of 180 pence per share (this being a premium to the price at the time the parties commenced discussions regarding the proposed licencing licensing agreement); and for a period of twelve months from the date of issue of the new ordinary shares pursuant to the Subscription, will retain the right to subscribe for further new ordinary shares in the Company such that Jereh would become interested in 10 per cent. of the enlarged share capital of Plexus at a price the lower of: (i) 200 pence per share (this being a premium to the price at the time the parties commenced discussions regarding the proposed licencing agreement); and (ii) the closing price on the date on which Jereh notifies the Company of its intention to exercise the option.

·    Jereh would have the right to appoint a non-executive director to the board of Plexus, subject to regulatory requirements.

Completion of the proposed transaction requires, inter alia, additional due diligence to be carried out by both parties and remains subject to further negotiation and final documentation (including the subscription agreement and technology licence agreement).

The signing ceremony and announcement was jointly made by Kunxiao Wang, President and Co-founder of Jereh, and Ben van Bilderbeek, the inventor of  POS-GRIPtechnology, CEO and founder of Plexus at the 15^th China International Petroleum & Petrochemical Technology & Equipment Exhibition 2015 ('CIPPE') in  Beijing, which runs from the 26^th to 28^th of March ('Beijing Oil Show').Jereh is currently exhibiting at the Beijing Oil Show, and as part of the initial collaboration between Jereh and Plexus, the Plexus wellhead R&D Model 13 ½ 10M POS-GRIP Exploration Wellhead System, with stand and tensioners, has been shipped from Plexus Malaysia and is being jointly displayed on the Jereh stand. The Beijing Oil Show extends over 90,000 sq. metres and attracts 1,800 exhibitors from 65 countries and regions, 16 international pavilions and 65,000 professional visitors.

Plexus' CEO Ben Van Bilderbeek said, "I am delighted that Plexus and Jereh have entered into the Agreement which we hope will enable us to bring Plexus' POS-GRIP technology to the important and growing Chinese market and other relevant Asian territories. We view China and Asia as one of the key global market opportunities for Plexus, and we believe that our POS-GRIP wellhead equipment will deliver operational time savings and safety benefits to the oil & gas companies operating in the region, many of whom will be facing high pressure/high temperature ('HP/HT') conditions which POS-GRIP technology is uniquely suitable for, and which has resulted in Plexus supplying wellhead equipment for the majority of HP/HT jack-up wells in the North Sea region.

"The progress we have made to date in our discussions with Jereh is an example of how Plexus continues to extend its geographic reach and we are continuing to see new enquiries from across the globe from operators that are considering POS-GRIP technology.  Such progress, and the growing support of our existing and new customers is centred around the principal that we can ensure long-term safety over the lifetime of a production well and beyond. We offer the only wellhead design that can provide a convenient releasable engagement of the casing hanger to the wellhead bore, instantly providing a metal interface seal, which is based on the same principles and performance as those employed in premium couplings design. This remotely delivered and calibrated force eradicates destructive seal movement, and protects seal integrity.

"Plexus has already supplied Shell China with HP/HT POS-GRIP wellhead equipment for an exploration well offshore Hainan Island and we hope to increase our activity in this region.  I would like to extend my appreciation to Chairman Sun for the way Jereh and his team have conducted these discussions, and I look forward to finalising the definitive agreements, and working with Jereh over the coming years."

 Kunxiao Wang, President and Co-founder of Jereh said, "We are pleased to announce this alliance with Plexus, which can be a milestone for Jereh entering into the subsea market. Plexus provides unique wellhead system technologies with a strong commitment to make the oil and gas industry much safer and efficient. We are glad to be able to work with such an outstanding partner. By integrating Plexus patented technology and Jereh manufacturing and marketing capabilities, we believe the alliance will create significant influence in the offshore and subsea field and create compelling benefits for customers around the world."

**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]
Derrick Lee	Cenkos Securities PLC	Tel: [phone]
Nick Tulloch	Cenkos Securities PLC	Tel: [phone]
Felicity Winkles	St Brides Partners Ltd	Tel: [phone]
Frank Buhagiar	St Brides Partners Ltd	Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors:

Jereh Group

Jereh Group was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Yantai, China. The Jereh Group listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange in 2010 and its current market capitalisation is approximately US$5.8bn.  In 2013 the Group generated revenue of US$600 million and employed over 5,000 people.

The Jereh Group consists of 18 subsidiaries located worldwide. To date the Group has built seven industrial parks, covering an area of around 700 acres, with 18 service basements across the globe and has established R&D centres in China, America and Canada. Worldwide sales and service centres are well established in Canada, South America, UAE, Kazakhstan, Russia, Australia, Africa, Indonesia and Hong Kong to provide customer-focused solutions to the energy industry.

Jereh is a worldwide leader in providing integrated solutions of oilfield equipment and services for oil and gas drilling, well stimulation and intervention, well completion, natural gas transportation, natural gas liquefaction and environmental management. The Group's product range include drill rigs, cementers, frac spread, coiled tubing unit, nitrogen pumper, intelligent pipe handling system, snubbing units, hot oilers, coiled tubing injectors and blow out preventers (BOP), natural gas compression package, natural gas equipment (including EPC, LNG equipment and gas fuelling units), compressors, LNG equipment), wellhead equipment, downhole motors and related equipment.

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, Bowleven plc, BP, Brunei Shell Petroleum, Cairn Energy, Centrica, ConocoPhillips, Dana Petroleum, Dubai Petroleum, GDF SUEZ, Global Santa Fe,Maersk, Niko Resources, Petro-Canada Trinidad & Tobago, Red Sea Petroleum Operating Company, Repsol, RWE, Senergy Limited, Shell China, Shell Egypt, Statoil, Silverstone Energy, Talisman Energy, 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, HGSS™, 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 HGSS 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 HGSS prototype wellhead system commenced in February, and is expected to be completed in readiness for display at the SPE Offshore Europe Exhibition and Conference in Aberdeen ('OE2015') in September.

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. 

 

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