Prysmian to unveil latest Airguard and umbilical technologies as well as wide range of submarine power cables and Onshore and Offshore cables at Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) 2008 - Houston, 5-8 May

Prysmian announces the opening of a new office in Houston,
a key hub for Prysmian's Oil & Gas activities

Prysmian Cables & Systems, one of the leading global companies in the energy and telecommunication cables market, will reinforce its strong association with the Oil & Gas sector at the 2008 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston from 5 - 8 May.  Prysmian's latest range of products will be on display, and introduced by a comprehensive team of market and product specialists from around the globe.
 
Houston has for some time been an important hub for Prysmian's Oil & Gas activities, and through the recent opening of a local office, staffed by a dedicated team of sales and product engineers, Prysmian has further reinforced its commitment to both the domestic and international markets managed by Houston based oil companies, EPC's and distributors.

Deployment of Prysmian's Airguard technology is gathering momentum in the North American market and in 2007 Prysmian invested in its Abbeyville (South Carolina) facility in order to manufacture Airguard locally.  This has proven a great success as demonstrated by an ever expanding order book.  In response to growing demand, Prysmian has geared up to produce Airguard to the IEC standard in Abbeyville, which will bring this innovative technology to the wider international stage.
 
2007 was a very important year for Prysmian's umibilical business, seeing the first full year of operation of its new Vila Velha facility in the state of Espirito Santo, Brazil. Some recent notable successes were the closing of contracts to supply umbilicals for StatoilHydro and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation's Peregrino development off the cost of Brazil, as well as steel tube umbilicals for the Petrobras' Plangas project.  This latter project will fully demonstrate the Vila Velha plant as a full range producer of umbilicals.

In addition to Prysmian's Airguard and umbilical technologies, which will be exhibited at OTC, Prysmian will also display a range of submarine power cables, Onshore and Offshore cables to BS, IEC and NEK standards, optical fibres and telecom cables, as well as a comprehensive range of connectivity components, glands and accessories for all technologies.

"Prysmian is once again very proud to participate at the Offshore Technology Conference, the world's largest and foremost event for the development of offshore resources, said Llyr Roberts, Global Director, Industrial Market, at Prysmian.

"OTC gives a unique opportunity for us to address the broadest possible client base in a single event, and this is why we have chosen it to introduce our latest products and technologies specifically for the Oil & Gas sector," concluded Mr.Roberts. 

Prysmian
The Prysmian group is a world leader in the energy and telecommunication cables industry, with a strong market position in higher-added value market segments. Organised into two business units, Energy Cables & Systems (submarine and terrestrial cables for electricity transmission and distribution) and Telecom Cables & Systems (optical fibres and cables for video, data and voice transmission, and copper telecom cables), the Prysmian Group has a global presence with subsidiaries in 36 countries, 54 plants in 21 countries, 7 Research & Development Centres in Europe, the United States and South America, and more than 12,000 employees. Specialising in the development of products and systems designed to meet clients' specific requirements, Prysmian's main competitive strengths include its focus on research and development, its innovative products and production processes, and the use of advanced proprietary technologies. Prysmian is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange Blue Chip index.