Oil and gas exploration and production company Providence Resources said it had suspended a development well at the UK Singleton oilfield due to ongoing operational problems.

The temporary suspension of the X12 development well came after a number of equipment failures and mechanical issues.

“Given the now significantly prolonged programme period, a decision was taken to temporarily suspend the well, given the time restriction conditions outlined in the approved planning consents, together with the rigs contractual availability period,” the company said in a statement.

Providence said it had begun an in-depth review of the drilling and subsurface data to identify the issues and see what could be changed for the future. It plans to submit an updated planning application to complete the well.

Technical director John O’Sullivan said the X12 well was the “most ambitious and challenging” to have been designed and drilled on the Singleton Field.

“Whilst our team worked hard to address the X12 operational and equipment challenges, progress was not sufficient over the past few weeks making it increasingly difficult to complete well operations within our approved planning and rig availability timelines,” he said. “Unfortunately, this meant that we had no alternative but to suspend current well operations.”

Davy Stockbrokers said the overall valuation impact of this programme on the group was “minimal”.