UPDATE 1-Victoria Oil sees Kazakh field to be restored to co

* Says gets support from Kazakh General Prosecutor

* Shares rise as much as 81 pct (Adds details)

March 16 (Reuters) - Victoria Oil & Gas Plc (VOG.L) said on Monday it expected the ownership of the disputed Kemerkol oil field in Kazakhstan to be restored to it following support from the General Prosecutor of Kazakhstan, sending its shares up as much as 81 percent.

The company said on Monday that after assessing the claim and Victoria's subsequent appeals, the general prosecutor has issued a formal letter of protest to the Supervisory Panel of the Economic Court of Atyrau Oblast, demanding cancellation of the court decision.

"This will mean that, Victoria Oil & Gas' ownership of Kemerkol will be restored and the case will be sent back to the Economic Court for reconsideration," the oil and gas explorer said in a statement.

Victoria Oil had acquired the Kemerkol exploration and production licence in 2005. However, since 2008 production from the field had been suspended due to the legal challenge, according to the company's Web site.

Some vendors had brought a civil claim against the company's Kazakh unit Victoria Energy Central Asia LLP in 2005, concerning a transfer of the Kemerkol subsoil licence, prior to Victoria's ownership.

The court upheld the claim in 2008. The company had appealed against the decision saying that the transfer was undertaken legally.

Victoria's shares were up 1.45 pence at 4.13 pence at 1040 GMT. The shares touched a high of 4.85 earlier in the session. (Reporting by Balachander Surianarayanan in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)