The Australian company Invictus Energy Ltd’s announcement earlier this week that it had made confirmed oil, gas and helium finds “with commercial viability” on its Mukuyu1 drill site onshore Zimbabwe, has added notably to the continent’s credentials as an energy producer and could even elevate it to the status of the first gas production in the Southern African country.
Invictus, according to a report on the energy find, has proved the presence of hydrocarbons in multiple pay zones, or reservoirs that can generate income, raising hopes of a dramatic turnaround for the fortunes of the country’s economy.
Invictus Managing Director Scott McMillan has been quoted as saying that ““analysis shows the presence of light oil and rich natural gas-condensate, with condensate gas ratios estimated at between 30 to 135 barrels per million cubic feet.”
According to the Invictus executive ““the analyzed samples demonstrate a consistent, high-quality natural gas composition” while “the presence of helium gas in commercial concentrations in multiple reservoir units is comparable with global helium producing fields and provides an additional high value by-product”.
The finds were reportedly made on Zimbabwe’s Cabora Bassa basin, where the Australian company holds an 80 percent interest in initiatives designed to to develop what has been described as “one of the last untested large frontier rift basins in onshore Africa.” Mukyu is “the largest undrilled prospect onshore Africa with an independently estimated 20 Tcf [trillion cubic feet] + 845 million barrels of conventional gas-condensate”, according to the Invictus website.
For Zimbabwe, the hunt for hydrocarbon resources has been a rollercoaster ride, the recent confirmed finds coming more than three decades after, first, and afterwards had come and left, leaving abandoned hydrocarbon exploration projects in their wake. It was reportedly data culled from a failed pursuit during the 1990’s that was embraced by Invictus to advance the exploration initiative that yielded the recent find.
Invictus has reportedly disclosed that it will commence drilling at Mukuyu-2 during the third quarter of 2023 and that it had already secured financial commitments for the drilling operations.
