Bayfield Energy (LSE: BEH.L) saw its shares rise 8% to 14 pence in early trading today, after positive news on the B3 well in the Trintes oil field in Trinidad.

Bayfield said the well had been brought into production and achieved a stabilized rate of 536 barrels of oil a day. The total reported production from the Trintes field is now said to be running at more than 2,300 barrels a day.

The rig used to drill the B3 well will now be used to replace the pumps on six other wells operated by Bayfield. It is hoped that these work-overs will boost production by a further 250 to 300 barrels a day, as well as improving the reliability of their output.

Today's gain was a rare bit of good news for shareholders in Bayfield. The company joined the Alternative Investment Market a year ago, selling its shares at 60 pence. Since the start of May, however, its shares have declined precipitously, and it's now valued at just 30 million pounds.

Operating problems have meant Bayfield has been unable to ramp up production from the Trintes field as quickly as planned, and this has starved the company of the cash flow it had earmarked for explorations prospects elsewhere.

Sentiment toward the shares took a big hit in mid-June when the company admitted it had abandoned fundraising plans announced just two weeks previously, due to the poor state of the markets. Bayfield is now looking at various alternatives, such as getting a partner to farm in to some of its prospects, asset disposals, and even the sale of the entire company.

Bayfield's management team is highly rated by many, having previously rewarded shareholders handsomely with Burren Energy. It's certainly going to be interesting to see how the situation develops from here.

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