Prospex Energy (PXEN ) has reported steady gas production and improved well performance at the Viura field in northern Spain, following the successful return of the Viura 1B well to production in October. The update supports the company’s view of Viura as a strong, long-term asset and underpins plans for future development drilling.
The Viura field is operated by HEYCO Energía Iberia (HEI). Prospex owns 7.24% of the field through its 7.5% stake in HEI. In addition, Prospex is currently accruing 14.47% of production income from Viura until payback of its initial capital investment, expected to be about £8 million, plus accrued interest at 10% per year.
The Viura 1B well has now produced for around a month at a gross plateau rate averaging more than 190,000 standard cubic metres per day (scm/d), equivalent to about 6.6 million standard cubic feet per day (scf/d), which is in line with expectations. At the current 14.47% accruing share, this translates to more than 27,100 scm/d net to Prospex, or approximately 1 million scf/d.
Meanwhile, water production has reduced to an average of less than 10 cubic metres per day, which equates to about 9 barrels per million standard cubic feet of gas. The company says this improvement is a direct result of the new completion installed earlier this year, which was designed to manage water more effectively and stabilise long-term output.
In addition, the operator is working on the reprocessed 3D seismic database to refine the structural model of the field. Once this technical work is complete, the partners plan to commission an independent reserves report to support a potential debt facility, which is expected to help fund development wells now targeted for late 2026 or early 2027.
Prospex's CEO Mark Routh said: "I am pleased to report that after a month of gas production from bringing the Viura-1B well back online on 17 October 2025, the well is producing gas at a steady plateau rate of more than 190,000 scm/d with a reduced water cut on account of the newly installed well completion. This confirms our long-held view that the Viura field is a strongly performing asset and that the recent production outage was an anomaly.”
View from Vox
The return of Viura 1B to stable, lower-water production is a positive de-risking step for Prospex, especially given the enhanced 14.47% income share until payback. Meanwhile, the planned reserves report and potential debt financing route could provide a clearer path to funding the next phase of development drilling from late 2026.