04 February 2013 – UK-based Plexus Ocean Systems Ltd., a division of Plexus Holdings plc, is utilizing a patented technology that the company believes will improve wellhead design to prevent or minimize the impact of blowouts such as the April 2010 Macondo incident in the Gulf of Mexico and the 2009 Montara blowout offshore Australia.
The company’s POS-GRIP technology, invented by the company’s CEO and founder Ben Van Bilderbeek employs a method of elastically deflecting an outer wellhead body onto an inner casing or tubing hanger and locking them in place to support tubular weight and activate seals. In surface wellhead applications, the system is powered by reusable hydraulic devices, which are fitted temporarily to flanges on the outside of the wellhead.
*Karen Boman, Rigzone Staff
