Akrake Petroleum has begun drilling at Benin’s offshore Sèmè field, marking the country’s return to upstream activity after a 27-year hiatus. The first well was spudded on August 4 using Borr Drilling’s Gerd jack-up, kicking off a ~100-day, three-well campaign to redevelop the mature asset. Euronext Live
OE Digital
The program targets two horizontal production wells in the H6 formation and a deeper vertical appraisal to acquire data in H7/H8, supporting potential Phase-2 development. Akrake—76% owner and operator—works under a production-sharing contract alongside the Government of Benin (15%) and Octogone Trading (9%).
Redevelopment plans include a refurbished MOPU and FSO to handle early output, with initial production guidance around 15,000 b/d as early as Q4 2025, subject to well performance and hook-up. The Sèmè field, near Sèmè-Kraké, last produced in 1998 after yielding an estimated ~22 million barrels.
Akrake is a wholly owned unit of Lime Petroleum Holding (affiliated with Rex International), which has positioned Sèmè as a fast-track restart using existing infrastructure and short-cycle wells. Authorities frame the project as a step toward restoring domestic production and capturing local services work as the field moves from appraisal to sustained output.
