Plexus Regulatory News (POS)

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

1 October 2012

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

Further Four Year Contract Win with Brunei Shell Petroleum Sdn Bhd for Plexus' POS-GRIP Wellhead Systems

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, announces a four year contract to supply wellhead and mudline equipment to Brunei Shell Petroleum Sdn Bhd ('BSP'). Under the terms of the contract, which are subject to finalisation, Plexus will supply both High Pressure/High Temperature ('HP/HT') and standard pressured Wellhead and Mudline systems and services, using the Company's proprietary POS-GRIP technology, for a multi-well exploration programme in Brunei. The value of the initial contract is estimated to be worth approximately GBP£2 million over the next 18 months dependant on the number of wells drilled. Revenues commence in October 2012.

The exploration drilling programme will initially utilise Plexus' HP/HT 18-3/4" wellhead equipment for exploration purposes at a variety of pressures and will also provide the ability to run mudline equipment if necessary without the need for additional equipment. This is the third contract signed with BSP and is an extension of the current four year framework agreement, which was preceded by the first two year agreement announced on 6 June 2006. At the time, this represented the first agreement for the supply of POS-GRIP wellhead equipment with a Shell operating company. 

In response to this new contract with BSP and also to support the Company's growing presence in the region, a new local company subsidiary, Plexus Ocean Systems (Brunei) Sdn Bhd, has been incorporated. Plexus hopes that this initiative will demonstrate the extent of its commitment to its customers in the region and will generate additional business opportunities in the future.

Plexus CEO Ben van Bilderbeek said, "There is no better vote of confidence in the quality, safety, and operational advantages of our POS-GRIP wellhead equipment than a follow up contract with a leading oil and gas operator. Since the first contract with BSP was signed in 2006, we have further developed our relationship with Royal Dutch Shell, with whom, along with a number of other major companies operating in the sector, we are currently collaborating with in the development of a new pioneering subsea wellhead design Joint Industry Project. This forms part of our wider strategy to expand the reach of our proven, patented technology, both in terms of geography and product range, both surface and subsea. In the meantime, as today's contract shows, considerable opportunities to supply our wellhead equipment to the oil and gas industry remain and, as our reputation and track record grows, I expect to report further contract wins in due course."

**ENDS**

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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.