Plexus Regulatory News (POS)

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

2 April 2012

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

American Petroleum Institute ('API') Monogram Licences Award

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 that following an extensive audit and assessment, the American Petroleum Institute ('API'), the leading standards writer and assessor covering the global oil and gas industry, has awarded the Company's Aberdeen facility two licences in relation to the API Monogram Programme. As a result, all equipment designed and manufactured in accordance with the relevant licences by Plexus can now be stamped with an API Monogram, signifying compliance with the relevant API standard. 

API is the largest U.S trade association serving the oil and gas industry and represents approximately 400 companies operating in all areas of the industry from exploration and production to refinement and distribution. API performs a leading role in the on-going enhancement of standards for petroleum and petrochemical equipment design and manufacture. API maintains more than 500 standards and recommended practices, many of which have been incorporated into government regulations. 

Designed for manufacturers of production, drilling, and refinery equipment, the API Monogram programme verifies that manufacturers are producing equipment in compliance with industry standards. To obtain and retain an API Monogram Licence, a company must have a documented and functioning quality management system in place that meets both the requirements of the API Quality Programme and the applicable API Product Specifications. Issuance of the licence is dependent upon the successful evaluation of the relevant company's manual and satisfactorily passing an on-site audit of facilities and processes. Following accreditation, Plexus has been deemed to comply with these high standards. The licences granted relate to API-6A (Specification for Wellhead and Christmas Tree Equipment) and API-17D (Specification for Subsea Wellhead and Christmas Tree Equipment).

Ben van Bilderbeek, CEO of Plexus said, "The award of two API Monogram licences and Plexus' inclusion as a vendor on the API Composite List is an important milestone for our Company. The expanding market for Plexus products has reached the point where API accreditation can be important to those operators who rely on the API standards. I am pleased that this licencing process was completed quickly and efficiently by our team in Aberdeen. API Accreditation serves the real purpose of enabling Plexus to participate in tenders for which the API standards are a prerequisite. This will prove particularly relevant in those parts of the world where operators are bound to procure API monogrammed equipment. I am confident that the growing traction Plexus is achieving for its wellhead products will be enhanced by the granting of these licenses."

**ENDS**

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

Notes to Editors:

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 for exploration and production applications. Based in Aberdeen, with offices in London, Cairo, Kuala Lumpur 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. Importantly, the Company is focussed on extending its proprietary technology into an increasing number of subsea applications. In line with this, in March 2011 the Company launched an 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. Royal Dutch Shell, Wintershall, Maersk, Tullow Oil and the UK entity of the world's largest offshore drilling company have joined the initiative to date. The 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, annulus pressure monitoring and access for 'bleed off' capability to address sustained casing pressure ('SCP') issues which are recognised by the API as a serious industry problem, and rigid metal annular seal technology qualified to match the performance of premium casing. Development is expected to be completed by mid 2013 calendar year.

To date, POS-GRIP wellhead systems have 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, 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 Egypt, StatoilHydro, Silverstone Energy, Talisman Energy, Tullow Oil, and Wintershall.