Helix Exploration (AIM:HEX) announced that the Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation has granted an exemption allowing it to vent waste gas, primarily nitrogen, at the Rudyard field, which means it can restart operations at the site with immediate effect.
The US-focused helium firm had paused output at Rudyard after the regulator raised concerns at a September site visit over the handling of associated gas, pending the hearing held on 15 October.
The Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation's site visit in early September had flagged that processes for helium gas production remained undefined, though the board said at the time there was no loss of produceable volumes and expected a timely resumption.
Helix has begun restarting the wells and production facility and expects to resume filling tube trailers on a continuous rotation basis within days, under the helium sales arrangement it extended on 25 September covering 100% of available Rudyard volumes through to March 2027.
Both of the company's leased tube trailers are already on site awaiting filling.
"We thank the Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation for granting its approval to restart operations at Rudyard," said chief executive Bo Sears, adding that the company looks forward to bringing the wells back on "while simultaneously advancing our field expansion programme."
Helix said it will issue a further update once flow rates are established and filling has resumed.
