Zimbabwe discovers oil but production still a long way off

President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday said Australian company Invictus Energy had discovered oil and gas in the Muzarabani area but commercial production is still a long way off.

Zimbabwe is currently experiencing fuel shortages which have resulted in motorists queuing for the product, especially petrol, in some cases for days.

Mnangagwa said Invictus, which is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, used data generated by Mobil Oil in the 1990s and their findings point to oil and gas deposits in the area.

He said the government of Zimbabwe will work very closely with Invictus to ensure that it realises its plans to sink an exploration well by mid-2020.

“After the exploration well, the next stage will be commercial exploitation of the resource,” he said.

“In the interim, additional geo-physical work is ongoing to identify further exploration targets. Updates will be given as and when the planned exploration work results come in.”

Mnangagwa said Invictus has committed itself to enter a production sharing agreement with the government of Zimbabwe, which will be applicable when the project proceeds to commercial production stage.

Invictus, however, said after the announcement Zimbabwe had not discovered oil but “exploration activity being undertaken by Invictus had positive indications and that an exploration well would be drilled to confirm the potential of the Muzarabani Prospect”.

“The Company wishes to reiterate that an oil or gas discovery has not been made and the Prospective Resource Estimate for the Muzarabani Prospect relates to undiscovered accumulations which have both a risk of discovery and a risk of development,” it said.

“Although the Cabora Bassa Basin possess all the elements for a working petroleum system, a discovery can only be confirmed through drilling of an exploration well.”

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