I'd speculate that aiming for something at such short range (180 metres) was the issue. Such close range is not something the gun was designed for. They probably aimed down the bore before loading a round.
But the other consideration would be what ammunition they were using? The intent was to remove the wellhead from its concrete foundation so perhaps they were using some sort of solid shot to crack the concrete? That would likely take a few hits.
It's certainly possible that they might use HE for the same purpose but I don't imagine that they would have used HEAT or AP because of the lack of overall damage they'd do to a lump of concrete.
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