Shares in Irish oil and gas exploration company Providence Resources fell further yesterday, as the company issued a statement indicating it was not aware of why the share price has been falling.

Shares fell by 3.5 per cent in London, following a 19 per cent decline on Friday. The stock is now down by 84 per cent since the start of the year on the London market. In Dublin, the stock had fallen by 8 per cent to 0.175 cent by 12.30pm, down by almost 150 per cent on August 15th 2014. It subsequnetly regained 5 per cent.

In a statement, Providence said it was “not aware of any specific reason for this decline”.

“As highlighted at its recent annual general meeting, the company has now amassed in excess of 330 MMBOE of net audited 2C contingent resources at its Barryroe and Spanish Point assets and continues to focus on the delivery of its long-term, Irish-centric strategy, including the Barryroe farm out process,” the company said.

Providence has previously said that the outlooremained challenging.