LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares in Regal Petroleum PLC plunged Tuesday afternoon after the oil and gas explorer and producer said its production licence at its Vasyschevskoye gas field in Ukraine has been suspended by the State Service of Geology & Subsoil of Ukraine.
Shares in Regal Petroleum were down 46% at 25.00 pence each.
The suspension is for special permit 5626, which is the production licence for the VAS field held by Regal's subsidiary LLC Prom-Enerho-Produkt. The subsidiary will have to shut down production within 20 days.
The subsidiary has started preparatory measures to shut down production but is still hoping the order can be suspended or "set aside by legal measures".
Regal said: "The company is seeking to obtain further information on the basis for the publication of the order, and is taking measures to protect its rights. The company does not believe that there are any grounds for the order."
Regal said the recent regulatory history of the licence is "entirely inconsistent with the action taken".
The company added it is "confident there are no violations of the terms of the licence or in relation to the operational activities of the company that would justify the order or the suspension of the licence."
Regal said it will take any necessary legal action to protect its rights and to recover any losses suffered from the suspension.
