Offshore works at the Sèmè field off Benin have moved into a new phase after the production unit and storage vessel were connected, allowing oil to flow into the offshore storage system as commissioning progresses.

Lime Petroleum said the hook-up between the MOPU Stella Energy 1 and the FSO Kristina has been completed. The storage vessel had been anchored at the field during the previous week, after which a flowline was installed between the two units.

With that connection in place, the company said commissioning of the production system is advancing and oil is now being transferred into the FSO. Over the next several days, more testing and commissioning work will continue to support production optimisation before regular output starts.

The field operator, Akrake Petroleum, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lime Petroleum Holding, which is 89.74% owned by Singapore-based Rex International Holding.

The restart campaign began last year when Akrake Petroleum launched drilling at the first of three planned wells in Block 1. The work used Borr Drilling’s Gerd jack-up rig.

Sèmè was discovered in 1969 by Union Oil. It was later developed by Norway’s Saga Petroleum, which produced about 22 million barrels between 1982 and 1998. Output was then halted in the late 1990s because of low oil prices.