Plexus Holdings nets Gazprom deal in key Russian market

Oil and gas engineering services business Plexus Holdings saw its share price soar yesterday on news of its Russian licensee securing a gas exploration drilling contract with global energy giant Gazprom.

Plexus is quoted on the Alternative Investment Market and is behind Pos-grip technology designed to prevent the type of blowout behind the 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster.

Its Russian licensee LLC Gusar has secured its first major contract to supply Pos-grip rental wellhead gas exploration equipment to Gazprom – which said it chose Pos-grip due to its “technical advantages”.

The contract covers the first 12 months of an up to five-year jack-up gas exploration drilling programme on the Kara Sea Shelf.

Plexus said the agreement marks a “significant” milestone towards establishing its best-in-class gas proof Posgrip equipment in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Russia represents a key market for Plexus, it added.

Plexus’ chief executive Ben Van Bilderbeek said Gazprom is the latest major operator set to join the likes of BP, Centrica, Conocophillips, Royal Dutch Shell and Total on the list of operators that have used its Pos-grip technology. “We are therefore anticipating that today’s order will prove to be the first of many, not just for Gazprom, but in time from other companies operating in the CIS market.” 0 CEO Ben Van Bilderbeek has high hopes for the deal