Akrake Petroleum, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lime Petroleum and part of Rex International, has signed key contracts for the deployment of a Mobile Offshore Production Unit (MOPU) and an Aframax tanker to be used as a Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) vessel at the Sèmè oil field offshore Benin.
The MOPU, which will be converted from a mid-sized drilling rig and fitted with a custom-designed processing package, along with the FSO, is scheduled to arrive on site in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The Sèmè field, located in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Guinea, was first discovered in 1969 and previously produced around 22 million barrels of oil between 1982 and 1998 before operations ceased due to low global oil prices. Akrake, which holds a 76% working interest in the field, is leading the redevelopment in partnership with the Government of Benin (15%) and Octogone Trading (9%). The company intends to submit its field development plan to Benin’s Ministry of Energy, Water and Mines in the coming months, targeting a production restart in the second half of 2025.
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Embracing modern drilling
Earlier April, Lime Petroleum secured a 120-day drilling contract with Borr Drilling to utilize the jack-up rig Gerd for an initial two-well program at the field. The campaign is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2025 and will focus on the H6 reservoir, which was historically the most productive, as well as appraising the deeper, previously untapped H7 and H8 reservoirs.
The redevelopment is structured in two phases. Phase 1 includes a production test from the H6 reservoir and appraisal drilling into H7 and H8, with first oil from the redeveloped H6 expected by the third quarter of 2025. If the results from Phase 1 are positive, Phase 2 will follow with the development of H7 through three horizontal wells by early 2027. Plans for H8 involve the drilling of two fishbone-style wells and the installation of wet gas processing facilities, with first gas targeted by the first quarter of 2029.
With modern drilling and completion technologies, Akrake aims to enhance oil recovery and potentially unlock the gas potential of the deeper reservoirs, aligning with Benin’s broader ambitions to utilize domestic gas for power generation. The phased approach is designed to reduce technical risk while maximizing the long-term value of the Sèmè asset.
