The oil and gas producer said the poor conditions were encountered through the Darai Formation and the rig would now be skidded and re-spudded from the second cellar.

Drilling at Arakubi, 5km east of the massive Kutubu oil field within PDL 2, began last month and was targeting a depth of 2945m.

Participants in Arakubi-1 are Oil Search (70.24%), Australian Gas Light Company (13.93%), Merlin Petroleum (7.93%) and Petroleum Resources (Kutubu) (7.90%).