Plexus Holdings PLC / Index: AIM / Epic: POS / Sector: Oil equipment & services
20 December 2021
Plexus Holdings PLC ('Plexus' or 'the Company')
AGM Statement
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, known for its safety, time and cost saving capabilities, will hold its Annual General Meeting ('AGM') today; this is being held as a closed meeting due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. At the AGM, Graham Stevens will be appointed to act as the Chairman of the meeting and will make the following statement:
"Being a services business within the oil and gas sector has not been easy for the past few years, particularly since the pandemic began and when more often than not our industry is seen as the villains in the climate change story. However, for over 30 years Plexus has been promoting the prevention of methane leaks at the well site, collaborating with many blue-chip companies to help prevent blow outs and emissions. Accordingly, we were delighted to receive the Green Economy Mark from the London Stock Exchange earlier in the year, which recognised our ongoing commitment to protecting the environment, initially with our 'through the BOP' (Blow-out Preventer) wellhead designs, and subsequently with our POS-GRIP® proprietary metal-to-metal HG® leak-proof wellhead sealing system.
"The 2021 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, COP26, recently played a major role in emphasising to the world the need to reduce leaks across the supply chain. This is particularly important where 'Super Emitters' are concerned, which are said to account for 75% of all methane emissions. As an example, one blowout that occurred at a well site in Ohio in February 2018 resulted in a reported circa 60 kilotons of methane being released into the atmosphere in 20 days; this is more than most European countries produce annually.
"Encouragingly, COP26 saw 105 countries sign a global methane pledge at the event to reduce overall emissions by 30% by 2030. We are hopeful that the regulators will review the current processes and technologies used in the oil and gas sector and insist on companies utilising leak preventative strategies and equipment whenever and wherever possible. This hasn't happened yet, but we remain optimistic.
"In addition, COP26 also highlighted the fact that whilst renewable energy technology is rapidly advancing, oil and gas will remain the predominant energy source during the transition for some years. Indeed, as recently reported by the Wall Street Journal, "The leaders of the world's largest oil companies said Monday [6 December 2021] that demand for the products they make will remain robust for years to come even as the world attempts to transition to lower-carbon energy sources. During this transition, we, at Plexus, can help companies in the sector make a genuine contribution to their ESG and NetZero goals by specifying and installing our unique proprietary technology at their well sites, such as our leak-proof POS-GRIP® wellhead equipment.
"Whilst our focus has been on applying our technology across a range of applications within the oil and gas sector including surface exploration and production wellheads, subsea and Plug and Abandonment de-commissioning, new opportunities in other industries such as carbon capture, gas storage, hydrogen and geothermal are increasing. With this in mind, we continue to invest in R&D to develop new products for alternative applications of POS-GRIP® technology; our 49% interest in Kincardine Manufacturing Services Limited, a specialist precision engineering business, supports us in this regard, providing us access to machining capability.
"Alongside our organic sales initiatives, we continue to pursue licencing opportunities, and several major companies have chosen to partner with us including TechnipFMC, Gusevsky Valves Plant LLC and Cameron International (a Schlumberger company). Our relationship with Cameron is particularly exciting as a second agreement signed in August 2021 enables us to return to the lucrative rental jack-up exploration (adjustable) wellhead market to pursue opportunities for low-cost wellheads in the volume market and develop POS-GRIP® equipment in larger Schlumberger EPIC contracts. Furthermore, a licencing agreement has seen us support the development of Cameron's own inaugural low-cost surface production wellhead designs that incorporate our technology; it is anticipated that these will begin to be marketed by Cameron in Q1 2022 calendar year.
"Importantly, we are also happy to confirm in line with our IP and licensee development strategy, an important post preliminary results extension to our ongoing partnership with Cameron, a Schlumberger Group company. We announced last week the signing of a "Variation Agreement" which expands the scope of the existing non-exclusive surface production wellhead licence agreement. This Variation Agreement will enable Cameron to use Plexus' POS-GRIP® method of wellhead engineering on conventional and unconventional surface production oil and gas wells worldwide, and increased royalty rates will apply for the expanded applications, further strengthening our relationship with Cameron. This new agreement is in line with our IP and licensee development strategy to create a portfolio of revenue streams and further expanding the reach of our proprietary POS-GRIP technology, whilst we continue to build on agreements with other blue-chip organisations, and pursuing our organic sales activities.
"Looking ahead, there remains considerable scope to cement Plexus' goal of becoming an essential contributor to the green revolution as its superior leak-free equipment begins to gain traction within the industry, and we look forward to updating our shareholders in the coming months.
"As 2021 draws to a close, Plexus would like to thank its team and shareholders for their continued support and wish you all a very Happy Christmas and prosperous New Year."
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.plexusplc.com or contact:
Ben van Bilderbeek / Graham Stevens | Plexus Holdings PLC | Tel: 020 7795 6890 |
Derrick Lee | Cenkos Securities PLC | Tel: 0131 220 9100 |
Isabel de Salis / Max Bennett | St Brides Partners Ltd | plexus@stbridespartners.co.uk |
NOTES:
Plexus Holdings plc (AIM: POS) is an IP led company focussed on establishing its patented leak-proof POS-GRIP® Technology in wellhead and associated equipment as the go-to drilling and production equipment for energy markets whilst making a genuine contribution to the oil and gas industry's ESG and NetZero goals by championing "through the BOP" (Blowout Preventer) products, and lifetime leak-proof "HG"® metal-to-metal sealing systems. Having protected the environment for many years through these technological innovations, the Company was awarded the London Stock Exchange's Green Economy Mark in July 2021 and continues to place emphasis on its ability to reduce harmful methane emissions and unnecessary maintenance and intervention costs.
Headquartered in Aberdeen, the Company has provided leak-free wellhead performance in hundreds of wells worldwide and worked with an array of blue-chip oil and gas company clients. As well as generating direct revenues from securing orders for surface production wellheads particularly in the UK and European North Sea regions, the Company has several licencing/collaboration agreements with major partners including FMC Technologies, which is a subsidiary of TechnipFMC, and LLC Gusar in Russia. Furthermore, it works closely with Cameron, a Schlumberger Group company Cameron has a non-exclusive licence to use the POS-GRIP and "HG" metal-to-metal seal method of wellhead engineering for the development of conventional and unconventional oil and gas surface wellheads, and Plexus entered into a Cooperation Agreement, which enabled Plexus to return to the Jack-up Exploration (Adjustable) Wellhead rental business for 'through the BOP' jack-up applications, where Cameron will help to provide Plexus with sales leads and market insight through a formal Sales Advisory Board. .
Plexus' current suite of products and applications include: "HG" wellheads, which combine POS-GRIP Technology with gas tight leak free metal-to-metal sealing; the Python® subsea wellhead, developed in a Joint Industry Project with several industry leaders; the POS-SET™ Connector for the de-commissioning and abandonment market; and Tersus-PCT, an innovative HP/HT tie back connector product. Having proved the superior uniquely enabling qualities of POS-GRIP Technology, Plexus is now also focused on establishing its technology and equipment in other markets such as Plug and Abandonment de-commissioning, carbon capture, gas storage, hydrogen and geothermal where it can play an important role in reducing harmful methane emission risks as operators strive to deliver on ESG commitments and NetZero goals in a safe and cost-effective way.
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