Prospex Energy, the AIM quoted investment company focused on European gas and power projects, provides an operational update on its production, development and drilling schedules across its portfolio of three producing natural gas assets onshore Europe: Viura, Selva and El Romeral. The net production across Prospex's portfolio of investments is now at ≈86,000 scm/d (≈3.1MMscfd), a 230% increase in production rate from January 2024.

Viura Production (55% of Net Production)

Gross gas production from the Viura field averaged ≈323,000 scm/d (≈11.4MMscfd) for the month of January 2025, which net to Prospex was ≈47,000 scm/d (≈1.7MMscfd). The original producing well on the Viura field known as Viura-1 ST3 was not in production in this period.

Viura Drilling Schedule

The two new development wells Viura-3A and Viura-3B are targeted to spud in April 2025. The procurement of long lead items and the necessary equipment required for drilling are progressing well.

The Spanish Ministry in Madrid officially approved the permit to drill Viura-3A on 24 January 2025.

The permit to drill the Viura-3B well was approved in 2024.

Selva Production (35% of Net Production)

Gross gas production from the Selva field averaged ≈80,000 scm/d (≈2.8MMscfd) for the month of January 2025, which net to Prospex was ≈30,000 scm/d (≈1.1MMscfd). Production operations continue to run smoothly from this asset which has achieved gross flow rates of between 78,000 - 80,000 scm/d throughout 2024.

Selva 3D Seismic Acquisition and Drilling Schedule

The 3D seismic acquisition on the Selva Malvezzi concession will now occur in Q3/Q4 2025 since the required permitting for the equipment mobilisation and execution of the project had to avoid the agricultural planting season in the Po Valley, which lasts from 15 March to the end of July each year. Since the 3D seismic acquisition is scheduled to be completed within a three week period and the data processing and interpretation will be completed immediately following acquisition, it is not expected to result in any delay to the drilling schedules.

The permit applications to drill the four new wells on the Selva Malvezzi concession were officially lodged with the central Italian Ministry in Rome on 24 December 2024. The current estimate of the commencement of drilling once full permits are received and the necessary equipment has been procured is Q4-2025/Q1-2026. The Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA") has been submitted and the statutory consultation process is underway. Discussions with landowners for access to the required sites is underway and is expected to take several months in parallel with the EIA process.

El Romeral Production (10% of Net Production)

Gross gas production from the El Romeral concessions in Q4-2024 averaged ≈18,000 scm/d (≈0.6MMscfd), which net to Prospex was ≈9,000 scm/d (≈0.3MMscfd). All the gas was converted into electricity and sold on the hourly spot market generating an average of ≈1,700MW throughout the quarter (≈850MW net to Prospex).

On 11 January 2025, the main 9MW transformer at the El Romeral plant which exports the generated electricity to the national grid failed, resulting in the shutdown of the plant which occurred safely and with no harm to personnel or other equipment. The local team of the Tarba Energía operator sourced a replacement transformer on rental which was successfully installed and electricity generation re-started on 1 February 2025. The original transformer was more than 22 years old and its repair was deemed uneconomic and it has been sold for its inherent and valuable scrap value. The new rental transformer is a higher specification at 16-20 MW and will be replaced by a new appropriately sized transformer in due course.

El Romeral Drilling Schedule

Significant progress was made last week on the permitting process for the five new wells to be drilled on the El Romeral concessions. As announced on 20 February 2025, the Statutory Consultation of the EIA for the application to drill the five new natural gas wells was publicly gazetted on the State Official Bulletin on 19 February 2025. The announcement was also published on the Official Gazette of the Province of Seville on 20 February 2025.

This means that the 30-working day consultation period ends on 4 April 2025.

Mark Routh, Prospex's CEO, commented:
"The Company is embarking on an exciting phase of its organic growth strategy with plans to drill 11 natural gas wells across its three production concessions within the next 18 months. Two of these wells, Viura-3A and Viura-3B are already fully permitted. The four wells in northern Italy and the five wells in southern Spain are progressing through the necessary regulatory and permitting processes in order to secure the full legal rights to drill once the environmental impact assessments have been evaluated and approved. 

"With energy security rising to the top of the agenda for most European nations, there is now a favourable sentiment for expanding the development of onshore, indigenous natural gas. Such natural gas production has a fraction of the carbon footprint when compared with the importation of natural gas by pipeline over long distances and an even smaller fraction when compared to the importation of liquefied natural gas.

"Ideally, Prospex will be able to fund the development of the new wells from existing revenues, limiting shareholder dilution. However, this is dependent on a number of factors including the continued and uninterrupted production of gas,  gas and electricity prices, the timing of bringing the new wells into production, which is subject to permitting, and the availability of other sources of finance. The Company has made significant operational advances in the last six months and I look forward to updating shareholders on our continued progress."