Engage Xr Regulatory News (EXR)

25 Sep 2007 07:02

Expro International Group PLC25 September 2007 25 September 2007 EXPRO INTERNATIONAL GROUP PLC Expro Announces Pre-Close Trading Update, Over USD 300 million of Contract Wins and Three Industry Firsts. Expro International Group PLC ("Expro" or the "Group") announces today thattrading during the six months ending 30 September 2007 has seen a continuationof the positive growth momentum established in prior periods. Market conditions for late cycle upstream oil and gas services have remainedstrong throughout the period. The effects of sustained global economic growthprojections interacting with ever increasing supply challenges have created anew platform for oil and gas commodity prices. This platform is now wellestablished above USD 60 per bbl and provides a positive backdrop for Expro toexecute focused growth strategies aimed at helping our customers meet theirextensive operational challenges. New contract wins totalling over USD 300 million Expro today announces over USD 300 million in new contract awards in the firstsix months. The awards have been delivered by our worldwide operations, across acomprehensive range of products and services, for delivery on a phased basisover the next three years. Significant awards include: Eastern hemisphere New contracts totalling USD 40 million were secured in the North Sea. Theincreasingly service intensive UK sector was particularly active; now a latecycle province, where progressively smaller accumulations of hydrocarbons areconnected, via subsea tie-back techniques, to the aging but comprehensiveinfrastructure. Awards from smaller but highly active operators includingPerenco, Oilexeco and Venture Production are evidence of the ever changing characteristics of the UK North Sea and play heavily to Expro's strength in thiskey technology segment. Our European business is also responsible for progress in the markets of the Former Soviet Union. In this area further progress was made in the Kazakhstan market with Ada oil and Agip ENI. The latter included an extension of our scope on the KPO contract. Over USD 20 million of new orders were secured in North Africa and theMiddle-East during the period, building on the previously announced majorcontract from Saudi Aramco in Saudi-Arabia. Multi service contracts were wonwith BP and BG in Algeria, Woodside and BG in Libya together with multiplewelltesting contracts in Egypt. Expro's investments in deepwater technology had a very positive effect onprogress in the offshore markets of West and South Africa. In total over USD 60million of new awards were secured in the period. These markets are dominated bymajor international oil and gas operators as they seek to add reserves andproduction in these technically differentiated markets. Awards from Chevron,Agip ENI and Shell in Nigeria, increased scope from BP deepwater Angola, CNRLoffshore Ivory Coast, Total and Noble in the Cameroon, Addax in Gabon andPetroSA for services offshore South Africa show the depth of Expro's presence inthese technology critical markets. In the combined markets of Asia new contracts to the value of USD 15 millionwere secured in the period. Contracts included Cairn Energy and BG in India,Santos and Apache in Australia and Amerada Hess in Thailand. Western hemisphere A further USD 30 million of new contracts were secured in the deepwater Gulf ofMexico. This market is highly appreciative of Expro's service quality andtechnology. In the period awards from Shell on their Mensa and Ursa assets, BHPon Shenzi and Genghis and ENI/Dominion on the Pegasus project were the mostnotable. The markets of the United States are pre-dominantly short term call-offin nature but the rise in the deepwater activity and subsequent tight supply inspecialised equipment requires our customers to increase their planning cycle.This has resulted in better visibility in the offshore segment. In Latin America where Expro has recently increased its presence, a total ofover USD 30 million of new contract awards were secured in the period. Brazilwas the single most active country with over USD 10 million of new business from Petrobras, Repsol and ENI. The Brazilian market is particularly active as Petrobras prepares to significantly increase offshore exploration and development activity levels out to 2010 and beyond. Mexico and Venezuela have also been active in the period. In the former Expro has been awarded a contract to support Pemex valued at USD 12 million to provide welltesting equipment on a purpose built test vessel. New business awards in Venezuela have held up well throughout a period of uncertainty in this market, with Expro securing new contracts with PDVSA and BP. In addition to our international Regional infrastructure activities, ourConnectors and Measurements business which supplies the global subsea marketsfrom two centralised factories in Cumbria (UK) and Bomloe (Norway), continued toprogress. Confirmed order backlog is currently USD 45 million. This is a leadingmeasure of upcoming performance and is progressing in line with our expectationsof expanding deepwater and subsea markets. Industry firsts As our customers search for and develop increasingly difficult hydrocarbonprospects in deep water provinces, Expro is at the forefront of providingcritical high reliability technologies and outstanding service quality. Duringthe first half of 2007/08, Expro achieved three industry firsts in this area,providing our international customer base with new standards in technologyachievement and quality. Expro set a new deepwater record for North African exploration welltesting onthe NEMED prospect, in over 7500 feet of water, for Shell offshore Egypt. Thisachievement follows the overall deepest water well ever tested offshore Brazilin 8993 feet performed by Expro last year. In addition, operations on the first ever high pressure/high temperature subseadevelopment commenced in the Tahiti field for Chevron during the period. Exprowas selected to design and build next generation subsea tools critical to thesafe installation of this deepwater field and successfully concluding theinstallation of the first phase of wells in this record breaking developmentduring the first six months of the year. These outstanding achievements were complemented by technical and commercialprogress with AX-S lightweight subsea wireline intervention system and by a second successive RoSPA sector award for health and safety performance. Winning this prestigious award two years in succession is a first for an upstream services provider and has helped project Expro into the top 20 of ethical businesses on the FTSE. Graeme Coutts, Group CEO commented: "I am very pleased with the pace ofdevelopment at Expro. Our prior year activities have delivered increasedexposure in markets which are appreciative of technology and service quality.The outlook for international late cycle upstream services remains good and wecontinue to invest to help our customers meet their needs, both short and longterm. Technology and service quality which aid operational efficiency will bevital if we are to meet the challenge of adding global production against abackdrop of the ever accelerating decline of producing assets. We are confidentof reporting good progress for the first half of the year and are very wellplaced for continued growth in the second half and beyond." - Ends - For further information please contact:Expro International Group PLCGraeme Coutts, Chief Executive Officer 0118 959 1341Michael Speakman, Finance Director Weber Shandwick Financial 020 7067 0700Nick Oborne / Rachel Martin / Hannah Marwood Notes to EditorsExpro's business is well flow management. Expro is a leading provider ofproducts and services that measure, improve, control and process flow fromhigh-value oil and gas wells. Key niche businesses must be able to command andsustain market share leadership through a combination of technologicalpre-eminence and/or operational economies of scale. They will have a highknowledge and service content and will be able to anticipate, meet and exceedcustomers' expectations. With its head office in the UK, Expro employs more than4,000 highly-trained staff in 50 countries. For more information, please visitthe Expro website www.exprogroup.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange