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(Sharecast News) - Prospex Energy said in an update on Monday that gas production has restarted at the Viura field in northern Spain following the successful completion of well intervention and recovery operations at the Viura-1B well.
The AIM-traded energy investor said the field operator, Heyco Energa Iberia, brought the well back online on 17 October, ramping up output to 120,000 cubic metres of gas per day with seven cubic metres per day of water by 20 October.
Production was expected to reach a plateau of 180,000 cubic metres per day this week.
Prospex holds a 7.24% interest in the Viura field through its 7.5% stake in Heyco Energa Iberia.
The company said it was accruing 14.47% of the production income until repayment of its initial capital investment - estimated at 8m - plus 10% annual interest.
Chief executive Mark Routh said the restart was a significant milestone for the company.
"The resumption of production from the Viura field is very welcome news," he said.
"The operator safely removed the severed wireline cable from the well with no injuries or safety incidents, enabling recommencement of gas production from the well.
"Prospex' share of production from Viura represents the largest contribution to the company's portfolio of net production with the associated reinstatement of cashflow being particularly welcome news."
The Viura-1B well had been shut in since April following the detection of a leak in the completion tubing, which required a rig intervention and replacement of production equipment.
Subsequent wireline testing in August led to a controlled suspension of operations after a failure in pressure control equipment necessitated cutting and retrieving a downhole cable.
The issue had now been fully resolved.
Between December 2024 and the end of the first quarter of 2025, the Viura-1B well produced 30.2 million standard cubic metres of gas, or 1.1 billion cubic feet, equivalent to 4.4 million cubic metres net to Prospex.
The firm said the acquisition of its stake in Viura increased its estimated reserves by 6.5 billion cubic feet, with the operator's best estimate of gross recoverable reserves for the field currently at 90 billion cubic feet.
Further updates to the reserve estimate were expected following reinterpretation of reprocessed 3D seismic data.
At 1412 BST, shares in Prospex Energy were up 12.2% at 4.6p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.