The expected launch of oil production on the Sèmè offshore field, off the coast of Benin, will not be done on time originally announced. Based on information reported on Monday, December 29 2025 by the specialized media Upstream Online, technical constraints are which disrupted the progress of drilling operations, causing a delay of the start of commercial production.

The drilling campaign, started in August 2025 with aiming to resume production before the end of the year, experienced a noticeable slowdown. According to the specialized press, these delays are linked to technical difficulties, in particular with the performance of the equipment deployed as well as the conditions for carrying out the work on the site. If the details Details of these problems have not been made public, their extent has been judged sufficient to review the project schedule.

The Sèmè field, discovered at the end of the 1960s by the Union Oil company, had been developed by the Norwegian company Saga Petroleum. It produced about 22 million barrels between 1982 and 1998, before the cessation of operations in a context marked by the fall in prices of oil. After more than twenty years of inactivity, this field is now the subject of an ambitious redevelopment project intended to relaunch the oil production in Benin.

The project is operated by Akrake Petroleum, a subsidiary of Lime Petroleum, itself controlled by the Rex International group. The operator owns 76% of the shares, alongside the Beninese State, a shareholder up to 15%, and from the local partner Octogone Trading, which owns 9%.

The development plan calls for the drilling of three wells, including two horizontal production wells and one evaluation well. It includes also the installation of a mobile offshore production unit (MOPU), as well as a floating storage and unloading unit (FSO). Before When technical difficulties arose, the target production was estimated between 15,000 and 16,000 barrels per day.

This report highlights operational challenges faced by projects to redevelop mature fields, and recalls the technical complexity of offshore operations. For Benin, who focuses on the relaunch of the Sèmè field to strengthen its revenues and diversify its resources, the schedule for resuming production now remains suspended to the resolution of these technical constraints.