Last checked at 8 Jun 2010 07:00
Plexus Holdings PLC / Index: AIM / Epic: POS / Sector: Oil equipment & services
8 June 2010
Plexus Holdings PLC ('Plexus' or 'the Company')
Board Appointment
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 the appointment of Geoff Thompson as a Non-Executive Director to the Board with immediate effect.
Geoff Thompson has nearly 35 years' experience in the international oil and gas arena as a consultant, specialising in the field of wellhead equipment including high pressure high temperature ('HP-HT') wells. For the past 29 years Geoff has been contracted as an independent consultant and specialises in advising international operators and oil service companies on well equipment and all mechanical aspects of well design and technology. This includes advising on surface wellheads and xmas trees; mudline suspension systems; Oil Country Tubular Goods (casings, tubings, liners, connectors), subsea wellheads, and casing tieback systems for both mudline suspension and subsea wellhead systems.
Importantly Geoff has an established relationship with Plexus having previously worked on an independent basis with the Company on wellhead equipment design and technical support.
Plexus' CEO Ben Van Bilderbeek said, "Geoff's wealth of experience within the international oil and gas arena, particularly in the field of HP/HT technology, will undoubtedly help raise Plexus' profile as we reach a pivotal stage in our development towards POS-GRIP wellhead technology becoming a new industry standard for wellhead design. With recent events highlighting the need for safer operating practices within the oil and gas industry, I believe the time is right to raise the awareness of our technology, as a new method of engineering, with the potential to provide unconventional solutions for unconventional applications. In this vein, Plexus is campaigning to have friction-grip technology more widely recognised by international regulators and standards agencies as an alternative to conventional technologies.
"Geoff will spearhead this effort as a non-executive Board member, with a special portfolio for standards, and the brief to represent the Company in its relationships with ISO, API, and CEN. We are very fortunate to have Geoff join our Company at this stage of our development, and wish him well in his new role."
The information in relation to Geoff Thompson which is required to be disclosed pursuant to Schedule 2 paragraph (g) (i) - (viii) of the AIM Rules is as follows:
(i) Geoffrey Edmund Thompson aged 55
(ii) Current Directorships:
Tech. Spec. Consultants Ltd
Past directorships in the previous 5 years:
None
Save as disclosed above, there is no information in relation to the appointment of Geoff Thompson which is required to be disclosed pursuant to Schedule 2 paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules.
The Company also announces that on 8 June 2009 it granted an award of share options under the 2005 Share Option Scheme ('the Scheme') to Geoff Thompson to acquire up to 100,000 ordinary shares of 1p each in the Company ('Shares') at a strike price of 60p per Share. The exercise of these options is subject to timing and performance criteria set out in the Scheme.
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.posgrip.com or contact:
| Ben van Bilderbeek | Plexus Holdings PLC | Tel: 020 7589 8555 |
| Graham Stevens | Plexus Holdings PLC | Tel: 020 7795 6890 |
| Jon Fitzpatrick | Cenkos Securities plc | +44 (0)20 7397 8900 |
| Ken Fleming | Cenkos Securities plc | +44 (0)131 220 6939 |
| Felicity Edwards | St Brides Media & Finance Ltd | Tel: 020 7236 1177 |
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 140 oil and gas wells by international companies including BHP Billiton, BG International, Bowleven plc, BP, Brunei Shell Petroleum, Cairn Energy, Centrica, ConocoPhillips, Dubai Petroleum, GDF SUEZ, Global Santa Fe, Maersk, 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.