Dana Petroleum's exploration of gas at Platypus in the North Sea region helped the company's shares rise. Stocks of Dana rose 15p in morning trade to £12.84 per share.

As per company sources, preliminary analysis have revealed that the discovered reserves are in line with pre-drill estimates of approximately 130 billion cubic feet of gas. The company also reported that Platypus was the first among the three point digging program in UK's Southern North Sea.

Dana's Chief Executive Tom Cross said that the gas field was in shallow water with good reservoir quality and it was in close proximity to existing infrastructure.

Some additional tests will now be executed to see the development options at the Platypus field.