Oil and gas engineering services business Plexus (LON:POS) has signed up more major oil companies as consulting partners on its Joint Industry Project (JIP) to develop and commercialise a new and safer subsea wellhead.
Eni, the Italian oil and gas major, and Oil States Industries Inc. a subsidiary of Oil States International Inc., a leading USA manufacturer of capital equipment, have both joined the project as consulting partners.
They join Maersk Oil North Sea, Shell, WintershallNoordzee, SafeKick, Tullow Oil, and the UK entity of the world’s largest offshore drilling company, which are already signed up.
Initiated in October 2010, the project is focussed on developing a new subsea wellhead, 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 wellhead 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 approximately £1.5m to £2m. Any intellectual property generated by the project will be owned by Plexus.
Ben Van Bilderbeek, the chief executive of Plexus, said: “Our JIP subsea wellhead initiative is gaining considerable momentum. Not only is the project progressing well and according to plan but it continues to attract the active participation of major companies in the oil and gas sector. I am delighted to welcome ENI and Oil States to the project and look forward to working closely with them as we continue to develop a new, fit for purpose, HGSS Subsea Wellhead that addresses key safety and performance requirements in a rapidly changing oil and gas industry.”
