GBP500,000 subsea wellhead HP/HT - Wintershall

RNS Number : 1932K

Plexus Holdings Plc

12 July 2011

 



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

12 July 2011

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

Award of £500,000 Subsea wellhead HP/HT crossover system by Wintershall

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, has been commissioned by Wintershall Noordzee B.V. ('Wintershall'), a leading international oil and gas company, to design and develop a mudline crossover subsea wellhead system with specific high pressure/ high temperature ('HP/HT') capabilities. The engineering design contract has a value of circa £500,000.

The subsea wellhead development initiative will see Plexus design over the next six months a mudline crossover subsea wellhead system for Wintershall that will enable the company to complete and then produce from a previously drilled temporarily abandoned (exploration) well which used the Plexus TRT-S Mudline system. 

By using POS-GRIP technology, the Tubing Hanger diameter has been reduced to enable installation through a standard casing riser rather than through a special larger diameter high pressure riser system between the Mudline and the Surface BOP. The proposed configuration allows multiple riser strings to be re-established during the subsea production conversion of a pre-drilled mudline well, thereby complying with the industries increased reliance on multiple barriers.

Under the terms of the product development contract Plexus will own the Intellectual Property rights to the new mudline crossover subsea wellhead system.  At the end of the design process Plexus will quote for the manufacture and supply of two subsea wellhead systems for installation at the end of Q2 2013.

This subsea wellhead product development contract with Wintershall is running in tandem with Plexus' "HGSS" Joint Industry Project new subsea wellhead design initiative launched in March 2011 to develop a new method of engineering for subsea wellheads utilising Plexus' friction grip technology. 

Plexus CEO Ben van Bilderbeek said, "This is a major step for Plexus in line with our growth strategy of extending our proprietary POS-GRIP friction-grip wellhead technology into an increasing number of subsea applications.  This contract not only demonstrates to the wider industry that friction-grip technology has distinct safety and performance advantages which can be applied to address specific technical problems and deliver solutions, it also acts as an endorsement of Plexus' extensive research and development capabilities.  In this vein, we have previously worked with Wintershall supplying our rental POS-GRIP wellhead systems, and we look forward to strengthening this business relationship and working with them on this new product development, as well as continuing to demonstrate to the industry our ability to address the many new and fast changing regulatory requirements as they emerge." 

**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]
Jon Fitzpatrick	Cenkos Securities PLC	Tel: [phone]
Ken Fleming	Cenkos Securities PLC	Tel: [phone]
Felicity Edwards	St Brides Media & Finance Ltd	Tel: [phone]

Notes to Editors:

Plexus, which began trading on AIM in December 2005, is an established oil and gas engineering and services business which supplies wellhead and mudline suspension equipment for exploration and production applications based in Aberdeen, with an office in London, Cairo, Kuala Lumpur and a presence in Houston, Texas. It has developed and patented a 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.

POS-GRIP wellhead systems have to date been used or selected to be used in over 150 oil and gas wells by international companies including Apache Energy Australia, BHP Billiton, BG International, Bowleven plc, BP, Brunei Shell Petroleum, Cairn Energy, Centrica, ConocoPhillips, Dubai Petroleum, GDF SUEZ, Global Santa Fe, Maersk, Niko Resources, Petro-Canada Trinidad & Tobago, Red Sea Petroleum Operating Company, Repsol, RWE, Senergy Limited, Shell Egypt, StatoilHydro, Silverstone Energy, Talisman Energy, Tullow Oil, and Wintershall.

The Company plans to accelerate the roll out of POS-GRIP technology as a superior alternative to current wellhead technology.  It has particular advantages in HP/HT (High Pressure/High Temperature) and X-HP-HT (Extreme High Pressure/High Temperature) oil and gas environments for which there is increasing demand throughout the world. The Company's long-term goal is to develop POS-GRIP technology as the future industry standard for wellhead design. This objective includes the distribution of POS-GRIP technology through licensees to maximise market penetration.

 

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