Singapore's Rex International Holding said completion works on a horizontal production well at the shallow-water Seme field, 15km offshore Benin, will start today, setting the west African country up to restart crude output later this month.
Production from the AK-2H well will likely begin below the previously announced 15,000 b/d target because that figure assumed output from two horizontal wells. Drilling of the second producer and a vertical appraisal well will be suspended after AK-2H is put on stream, as the contract period for the Borr Gerd jack-up rig comes to an end, Rex said.
Akrake Petroleum, Rex's indirectly held subsidiary and operator of Seme with a 76pc stake, had planned to start output in December but faced technical problems during drilling. Layers of shale above the target reservoir were unstable, causing tools to get stuck and requiring redrilling that led to "significant delays", Rex said today. In a separate statement, the company said its direct subsidiary has asked bondholders to defer interest payments due this month until March because of the project delays.
The mobile offshore production unit and floating storage and offtake vessel for the Seme field are "on location, ready for production", Rex said. The operator will seek a new rig to complete the second producer and appraisal wells and aims to add a third producing well in a fresh drilling campaign later this year.
