Akkrake Petroleum, a fully-owned subsidiary of Rex International-Monarch Marine Holding joint venture Porto Novo Resources, has signed a production sharing contract for operatorship and working interest in an oil field offshore Benin, West Africa.
Akkrake Petroleum has secured a 76% working interest in Block 1 Sèmè Field, with the remainder of the working interest held by the government of Benin (15%) and Octogone Trading (9%).
The offshore Block 1 in Benin covers 551 sq km and is in shallow water depth of 20 to 30 meters. The block includes the Sèmè Field discovered by Union Oil in 1969, first developed by Norwegian oil company Saga Petroleum. The oil field had produced approximately 22 MMbbl between 1982 and 1998, before production was stopped prematurely due to low oil prices of around $14 per barrel in 1998.
Akkrake Petroleum has unveiled plans to initially redevelop the Sèmè Field through production system comprising a jack-up mobile production unit (MOPU) and a floating storage unit (FSO), to restart production.
Horizontal wells and modern completion technology for water control will be used to maximize total oil recovery, the company said.
Previous drillings in the Sèmè Field in 2014 to 2015 have proven additional deeper hydrocarbon accumulations of 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 early production drilling, according to Akkrake Petroleum.
Additional reserves and resources, if any, can be produced through the infrastructure to be installed in one of the reservoirs.
Dan Broström, Executive Chairman of Rex International Holding, said: “The terms for the Block 1 production sharing contract are favorable for an economically viable development to restart production in the short-term.
“We will tap on the geological and geophysical expertise and the deep technical and operational knowhow 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. Đ
“We will also evaluate exploration opportunities to unlock unexploited oil and especially gas potential in the field.”
Akkrake Petroleum is owned by Porto Novo Resources, which has been established as a joint venture between Rex International and Monarch Marine Holding, through an agreement signed earlier in December for carrying out the business of owning and operating offshore oil and gas assets in West Africa. Porto Novo Resources is 70% held by Rex International and 30% by Monarch Marine Holding.