Akkrake Petroleum establishes itself in a West African oil field

Akkrake Petroleum, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Rex International-Monarch Marine Holding Porto Novo Resources joint venture, has signed a production sharing contract for the operation and working interest in an oil field offshore Benin, West Africa.

Akkrake Petroleum has obtained a 76% working interest in Block 1 of the Sèmè field, with the remaining working interest held by the Benin government (15%) and Octogone Trading (9%).

Offshore Block 1 in Benin covers 551 km² and lies in shallow waters of 20 to 30 meters. The block includes the Sèmè field, discovered by Union Oil in 1969 and first developed by Norwegian oil company Saga Petroleum. The oil field produced around 22 million barrels between 1982 and 1998, before production was halted prematurely due to low oil prices of around $14 a barrel in 1998.

Akkrake Petroleum has unveiled its intention to initially redevelop the Sèmè field with a production system comprising a mobile self-elevating production unit (MOPU) and a floating storage unit (FSO), in order to restart production.

Horizontal wells and modern completion technology for water control will be used to maximize total oil recovery, the company said.

Previous drilling in the Sèmè field in 2014 and 2015 proved additional accumulations of deeper hydrocarbons, oil and gas.

Further appraisal tests, including the appointment of a qualified person to independently assess the amount of reserves in the field, will be undertaken in conjunction with the first production drilling, according to Akkrake Petroleum.

Additional reserves and resources, if required, can be generated thanks to the infrastructure to be installed in one of the reservoirs.

Dan Broström, Executive Chairman of Rex International Holding, commented: "The terms of the Block 1 production sharing contract are favorable to an economically viable development that will enable production to be restarted in the short term.

"We will harness the geological and geophysical expertise and in-depth technical and operational know-how of our teams in Norway and Oman, and establish a professional team locally, to work towards filing a field development plan in 2024 to restart production. 

"We will also evaluate exploration opportunities to unlock the field's untapped oil and especially gas potential."

Akkrake Petroleum is owned by Porto Novo Resources, which was created as a joint venture between Rex International and Monarch Marine Holding, thanks to an agreement signed earlier in December to carry out the business of owning and operating offshore oil and gas assets in West Africa. Porto Novo Resources is 70% owned by Rex International and 30% by Monarch Marine Holding.