REG - Prospex Energy PLC - Completion of Statutory EIA Consultation Process

Prospex EnergyAnnouncement

17/11/2025 07:00

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RNS Number : 6925H  Prospex Energy PLC  17 November 2025

Prospex Energy plc / Index: AIM / Epic: PXEN / Sector: Oil and Gas

 

17 November 2025

 

Prospex Energy plc

("Prospex" or the "Company")

 

Completion of the Statutory EIA Consultation Process

to drill five further wells on El Romeral Production Concessions

 

Prospex Energy plc (AIM: PXEN), the AIM quoted investment company focused on
European gas and power projects, is pleased to announce that that the full
suite of Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA") documentation for the
application by Tarba Energía S.L. ("Tarba") to drill five new natural gas
wells on the El Romeral concessions was submitted to The Ministry for the
Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge in Madrid ("MITECO") on
Friday 14 November 2025.  The consultation process that Tarba was required to
go through before submission has concluded with no objections or adverse
comments received from a total of 29 statutory consultees, non-governmental
organisations, local stakeholders, local regulators, associations or residents
and town councils.  Prospex owns 100% of Tarba Energía S.L.

 

EIA Highlights

·    Full EIA documentation submitted to MITECO in Madrid on Friday 14
November 2025.

·    No objections received from the 29 statutory consultees.

·    MITECO now has the full EIA documentation to assess and evaluate.

·    Subject to final approval, MITECO can then move to recommend a
Ministerial resolution to approve the well permits, the final stage of the
permitting process.

·    MITECO states that the timeline for this final step of the approvals
process is 90-180 days.

·    Identified resource base of more than 90 bcf( 1 ) of gas, now 100%
owned by Prospex, within El Romeral.

·    The five wells being permitted are targeting the lowest risk
structures in the concessions with best estimate contingent and prospective
gas resources of 18.2 bcf.

 

Drilling Preparatory Work

Whilst Tarba has been waiting for the regulatory approvals process to
complete, Tarba has progressed key drilling preparatory work, including
detailed well design, sourcing essential long-lead items and evaluating the
necessary contractors and equipment to deliver the five new production wells.

 

Seismicity Study

Tarba has also started a project to record the background seismicity across
the three El Romeral concessions in order to establish the background
seismicity of the area.  This step is a recommendation (but not a
requirement) from the EIA process so that Tarba can demonstrate to the
regulators that any future extraction of natural gas from the concession areas
does not cause a seismic event.

 

Background on the permitting process

The application to drill five new natural gas wells on the production
concessions owned by Tarba known as El Romeral 1, 2 & 3 was submitted to
MITECO in Madrid in May 2024 together with the full scientific analysis and
assessment of any potential effects that the proposed drilling project may
have on the environment.  The EIA consultation was publicly gazetted on the
State Official Bulletin on 19 February 2025, (see RNS of 20 February 2025
(https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/prospex_energy_plc/news/rns/story/rn35p0w)
).  Officially, the statutory EIA consultation period was 30 working days (to
4 April 2025), however it has taken until now for certain statutory consultees
to complete their review and respond.

 

Having received all of the mandatory reports including from the Geological
Survey of Spain (Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, "IGME") in Madrid,
the Hydrologic Public Domain Authority (Confederacion Hidrografica Del
Guadalquivir) in Seville and the environmental department of the
Sub-delegation of the Government in Seville, the Sub-delegation of the
Government in Seville has reported back to MITECO its findings and
recommendations.  From this point, MITECO targets between 90 to 180 days for
the final review and approval, giving time to gather its internal and final
EIA evaluation, together with all the mandatory statutory reports from the
public administrations and institutions before it can recommend a Ministerial
resolution to approve the well permits to drill the five wells.

 

The local governmental authority alongside the Department of Industry and
Energy of the Sub-delegation of the Government in Seville received no
objections or concerns on the environmental impact of the project other than
confirmation that mandatory legal obligations that are already included in the
EIA reports are to be enforced.  The EIA submitted by Tarba comprised a full
suite of documentation as required by law covering every aspect of the
environmental impact of drilling the five proposed natural gas wells on the El
Romeral concessions.

 

Background on El Romeral

Tarba generates electricity at its El Romeral power plant from its own natural
gas production from the concessions, which in July 2024 were granted a
ten-year extension by the central Spanish Ministry to July 2034.  The five
wells are planned to target the five optimum structures on the El Romeral
concessions, which will produce biogenic gas from shallow subsurface horizons.
 The depth of the wells average about 700 metres and will each take no
longer than 3 to 4 weeks to drill once a suitable drilling rig has been
mobilised after the well permits are secured.

 

Ongoing Activity at El Romeral - Transformer Replacement

Following a competitive tender process, Tarba has awarded the supply of a new
electricity transformer with its unique voltage and power specification, to
provide future security of operations for Tarba.  Delivery normally has a
lead time of 10 months; however, the Spanish vendor is working urgently to
accelerate this to deliver to site in 6 months.  Tarba will do regular
quality, schedule visits and Factory acceptance tests at the Vendor's site.

 

As previously reported, the Lessor of the transformer at the El Romeral power
plant removed it on 1 July 2025 on the condition that it be replaced within a
few weeks and compensation was agreed to be paid to Tarba for the lost
revenue.  The Lessor has failed to deliver a replacement rental transformer
and payments agreed for the lost revenue have not yet materialised.  Tarba is
seeking recovery from the Lessor.

 

Due to these unforeseen developments, staffing costs at Tarba have been
reduced and other cost saving measures have been implemented.

 

Mark Routh, Prospex's CEO, commented:

"We are delighted to be making good progress in the complex permitting process
which has now moved to the final stage.  I also take this opportunity to
update shareholders on the El Romeral plant's transformer.  I am pleased to
report that we have now placed an order for a new transformer for the El
Romeral plant from a Spanish supplier.  The transformer, which has an almost
unique voltage and power specification, should be delivered and installed in
the first half of next year.  In the meantime, electricity production is
suspended but useful work is being undertaken at Tarba in anticipation of the
company being back in operation as soon as we are able.

 

"We remain highly confident in the overall value of the El Romeral asset and
its future development potential and are pleased that the permitting process
to drill five new natural gas wells has taken a significant step forward.
 The process to apply for permission to drill natural gas wells in Spain is
lengthy and complex and as we have experienced comes with unexpected delays in
recommended timelines.  It is a testament to the professionalism and quality
of our team and advisers that the EIA documentation submitted has resulted in
no objections or concerns.  The only comments received from the statutory
consultees were to confirm that mandatory legal obligations that are already
included in the EIA reports are to be enforced.

 

"The El Romeral power plant will reach full output capacity from production of
just two of the proposed five wells.  Any extra gas from the remaining new
wells or any future wells drilled on the concessions will support expansion
plans at the power plant as well as the ability to supply natural gas directly
to the gas grid.  The El Romeral concessions have substantial development
potential with more than 90 bcf of gas( 1 ) now owned 100% by Prospex to be
drilled.

"We will continue to keep shareholders updated on the permitting process.
Since we are now in the final stage of receiving the permits to drill these
five wells, we can start the process of optimising the funding of the wells by
seeking potential debt funding or farm-in partners, or both."

 

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law
by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR") and is disclosed
in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR.

 

* * ENDS * *

 

For further information visit www.prospex.energy (http://www.prospex.energy)
or contact the following:

 

 Mark Routh                        Prospex Energy PLC            Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177
 Ritchie Balmer                    Strand Hanson Limited         Tel: +44 (0) 20 7409 3494

Rory Murphy
 Andrew Monk (Corporate Broking)   VSA Capital Limited           Tel: +44 (0) 20 3005 5000

Andrew Raca (Corporate Finance)
 Neil Passmore                     Hannam & Partners             Tel: +44 (0) 20 7907 8500

 Leif Powis
 Ana Ribeiro / Charlotte Page      St Brides Partners Limited    Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177

Notes

Prospex Energy PLC is an AIM quoted investment company focussed on high impact
onshore and shallow offshore European opportunities with short timelines to
production.  The Company's strategy is to acquire undervalued projects with
multiple, tangible value trigger points that can be realised within 12 months
of acquisition and then applying low-cost re-evaluation techniques to identify
and de-risk prospects.  The Company will rapidly scale up gas production in
the short term to generate internal revenues that can then be deployed to
develop the asset base and increase production further.

 

El Romeral Gas Reserves and Resources

An independent Competent Person's Report including the gas Reserves and the
Contingent and Prospective gas Resources of the El Romeral Licence areas, was
prepared by Netherland Sewell & Associates Inc. on 9 October 2019. 1   In
addition to the 2P reserves of 8.5 MMscm (0.3 Bcf) it attributes a total of
142 MMscm (5.0 Bcf) of 2C resources and 2,541 MMscm (89.7 Bcf) Best Estimate
Prospective resources to the El Romeral Licence Concessions.

 

Prospex through its ownership of Tarba now owns 100% of the El Romeral
Concessions.

 

References:

( 1 ) Source: "Competent Person's Report Netherland Sewell & Associates
Inc. 9 October 2019.

NSAI_El-Romeral-CPR-2019
(https://prospex.energy/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/NSAI_El-romeral-estimates-2019.pdf)

 

About El Romeral and Tarba

The El Romeral power plant is operated by Tarba, which is based near Carmona
east of Seville in the province of Andalucía, Spain.  The El Romeral asset
is owned through Tarba by Prospex which owns 100% of Tarba since the
acquisition in April 2025 of the shares in Tarba held by Warrego Energy
Limited.  Warrego Energy is wholly owned by Hancock Energy (PB) Pty Ltd in
Perth Western Australia.

The El Romeral gas and power project in Spain, has gas production wells which
supply gas to an 8.1MW power plant near Carmona in Southern Spain.  It can
only operate at about 30% of its full capacity because Tarba is waiting on the
permits to drill five further infill wells on the concessions to increase
production.  Tarba is already categorised as a hybrid energy provider with
the successful installation of photovoltaic panels on the roof of the plant in
August 2022.  Tarba sells electricity generated from the plant on the spot
market in Spain.  The El Romeral licences comprise three contiguous
production concessions.

 

Natural gas continues to play an essential role in Europe's energy security
and the ecological transition process.  The production of shallow biogenic
gas from the onshore El Romeral concessions will have a carbon footprint which
will be a small fraction of the comparative carbon footprint resulting from
the importation of natural gas by pipeline, and even smaller when compared to
liquefied natural gas imports.

 

Tarba is pioneering a new hybridisation model that combines natural gas and
solar energy as sources for electricity generation in the ecological
transition process by developing a project to produce 5MW electricity using
photovoltaic solar energy ("Project Helios").

 

Glossary:

scm                        Standard cubic metres

scm/d                    Standard cubic metres per day

MMscm                Million standard cubic metres

Bcf                         Billion standard cubic feet

MMscfd                million standard cubic feet per day

MWh                     Mega Watt hour

TTF                        The 'Title Transfer Facility' - a
virtual trading point for natural gas in the Netherlands.

 

Qualified Person Signoff

In accordance with the AIM notice for Mining and Oil and Gas Companies, the
Company discloses that Mark Routh, the CEO and a director of Prospex Energy
plc has reviewed the technical information contained herein.  Mark Routh has
an MSc in Petroleum Engineering and has been a member of the Society of
Petroleum Engineers since 1985.  He has over 40 years operating experience in
the upstream oil and gas industry.  Mark Routh consents to the inclusion of
the information in the form and context in which it appears.

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