Plexus adds two new partners to project

Plexus Holdings has bagged a couple of big names in the oil business to help on its project to develop and commercialise a new and safer sub-sea well-head in response to the Macondo tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico.

The AIM quoted oil and gas engineering services business, announced that Eni, an Italian oil and gas major, and Oil States International, a leading USA manufacturer of capital equipment, have both signed up as additional consulting partners to Plexus's Joint Industry Project (JIP) to develop and commercialise a new and safer sub-sea well-head.

The project, which uses Plexus's patented POS-GRIP technology, has already received the support of five other major oil and gas companies who will act as consultants in the JIP.

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Initiated in October 2010, the JIP is focussed on developing a new sub-sea well-head, the HGSS, to address key technical issues and requirements highlighted by regulators following the Gulf of Mexico incident in April 2010.

All members of the JIP will be contributing to the design and engineering process with the intention that they potentially become end-users and commercial partners once the well-head has been fully built, tested and commercialised.

The project is anticipated to take between 18-24 months from the initiation date at a cost of around £1.5m to £2.0m. Any intellectual property generated by the project will be owned by Plexus.

The share price rose 9.43% to 116p by 14:01.

NR