Lime Petroleum considering options following delayed startup of Sèmè Field offshore Benin

Lime Petroleum Holding (LPH) has achieved first oil from the AK-2H well for the Sèmè Field redevelopment in Block 1 offshore Benin.

LPH is the holding company for the project operator Akrake Petroleum Benin.

Commercial production from the well should follow over the next fortnight.

However, the technical complications experienced during drilling operations led to higher than expected drilling costs, with a production delay of more than three months.

Lime’s indirect parent company Rex International Holding said this outcome had had a material adverse effect on LPH’s financial position. The board and management are taking actions to safeguard creditor interests and maximize recoveries.

LPH has appointed ABG Sundal Collier as its financial adviser and Arntzen Grette as its legal counsel to perform a strategic and financial review, with a mandate to assess all available alternatives to strengthen its balance sheet and secure a sustainable capital structure.

Options could include potential mergers or asset transactions.

Without a comprehensive recapitalization or restructuring solution, LPH may be unable to meet its financial obligations as they fall due.

Brage Field & Yme Field production ongoing

LPH is also the holding company for Norwegian E&P company Lime Petroleum AS (LPA), a partner in the producing Brage area and the Yme Field in the North Sea.

LPA recently reported that January production at the Brage and Yme fields combined, net to LPA, was 11,104 boe/d. There were scheduled and unscheduled shut-ins at both fields that were in the ordinary course of operations last month.