Akrake Petroleum, an indirect subsidiary of Rex International announced on Monday, January 12, 2026 that it plans to launch production on the Sèmè field, off the coast of Benin, at the end of the month of January 2026.

After several weeks of uncertainty, the Sèmè offshore oil project is being finished.The work must, according to the press release from the company, the work will begin at the beginning of the week of January 12. Production is still subject to the completion of drilling of the AK-2H production well.

Akrake Petroleum, an indirect subsidiary of Rex International, plans to launch production on the Sèmè field, in off the coast of Benin, at the end of January 2026. Akrake has a 76% stake in this block, while the Beninese government owns 15% and the company local oil company Octogone Trading owns 9%. The announcement was made on Monday 12 January and marks a turning point after the initial calendar was postponed, which aimed to a start before the end of 2025.The start of production remains subject to the completion of the drilling of the AK-2H production well.

According to the company, the operations were slowed down by geomechanical difficulties in the layers of unstable shales located above the reservoir, causing several technical incidents and re-drilling. It says

that exploiting new data geomechanics collected during the work made it possible to adjust the parameters of drilling and crossing these complex areas when drilling the AK-2H well.

Meeting the end of January deadline will depend on the completion of the drilling of the AK-2H well without further incident major. The first production plateau should be around 15,000 barrels. per day. Data from the AK-1P exploration well must also make it possible to assess the potential of deeper layers, likely to extend the operating life of the field and increase production to medium