PLEXUS Holdings, the oil and gas well technology firm, has won a £3.3 million contract to help Total with its exploration drive in the North Sea.
Aberdeen-based Plexus will supply wellhead systems for use on the Solaris well the French oil and gas giant plans to drill in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea.
The award provides a sign that oil and gas firms are prepared to continue with exploration work in parts of the North Sea in spite of the plunge in the crude price.
Norway provides generous tax breaks for exploration.
Total recently put a 20 per cent stake in the giant Laggan Tormore development West of Shetland up for sale.
The Solaris well looks set to be a challenging exercise for Total. Plexus said initial estimates suggest that Solaris may be the highest pressure well in the North Sea to date.
Oil and gas firms have been moving into high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) areas in their search for new finds in areas where there has been lots of exploration activity, such as the North Sea.
Aim-listed Plexus says its technology is well-suited for work in such areas.
In March Plexus said Budget tax changes that are intended to boost activity on HPHT fields could help generate business for the firm.
Solaris will be drilled close to BG's Mandarin East well, which is also known for its extreme high pressure conditions.
Revenues under the contract with Total will start in October.
Total has been working with Plexus on the development of a subsea wellhead system as part of a joint industry project which involves other oil and gas firms.
Plexus increased revenues by seven per cent, to £13.5m, in the six months to December, from £12.6m. After tax profits increased 28 per cent to £1.97m, from £1.54m.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article