Singapore’s Rex picks London-based corporate finance advisor for West African oilfield

Singapore’s Rex International Holding Limited has engaged Hannam & Partners (H&P), a London-based independent investment bank, as its exclusive corporate finance advisor concerning its recently awarded production sharing contract (PSC) for a block containing an oilfield offshore Benin in West Africa.

This comes shortly after Akrake Petroleum, Rex’s joint venture company, signed a PSC for operatorship and a 76% working interest in Block 1, which encompasses the Sèmè oilfield offshore Benin in West Africa. Akrake will initially redevelop the field and apply its low-cost production system comprising a jack-up mobile production unit (MOPU) and a floating storage unit (FSO) to restart production.

H&P will support Rex with strategic corporate finance advice about capital fundraising, corporate and asset transactions for this PSC in West Africa, and potentially in other strategic growth initiatives for the firm’s oil & gas business.

John d’Abo, Rex’s Executive Vice Chairman, commented: “Following the award of Block 1, Sèmè field in Benin, we are actively evaluating financing for organic growth and potential inorganic growth opportunities. We look forward to leveraging on H&P’s expertise and will update the market in due course.”

Covering 551 km2, Block-1, which was discovered in 1967 by Union Oil, is located in shallow water of 20 to 30 meters with onshore facilities and a tank farm for processing oil production. The Sèmè field – first developed by Norway’s Saga Petroleum – produced approximately 22 MMbbl between 1982 and 1998, before production was stopped prematurely due to low oil prices of around $14 per barrel in 1998.

As previous drilling campaigns at the Sèmè field from 2014 to 2015 proved additional deeper hydrocarbon accumulations of oil and gas, further appraisal tests would be undertaken in conjunction with the early production drilling.