Invictus solidifies hold over entire Cabora Bassa oil and gas fairway

Invictus officially holds the entire conventional oil and gas play fairway in Zimbabwe’s Cabora Bassa Basin after its exploration rights to the expanded area were gazetted.

General Notice 2010 of 2022, which assigned the exploration rights of the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Zimbabwe over Exclusive Prospecting Orders (EPOs) 1848 and 1849 for three years to the company, was published in the official Zimbabwe Government Gazette.

The assignment of the licences covering about 360,000 hectares also provides for the conversion of EPOs to a Special Grant, providing Invictus Energy (ASX:IVZ) with a pathway to development and production.

More importantly, it gives the company an expanded portfolio of high potential prospects and leads.

Multiple drill ready prospects in the newly identified Basin Margin play have been mapped along the southern basin bounding fault, which display similarities to the East Africa Rift “String of Pearls” that resulted in material discoveries in the Lokichar Basin in Kenya and Albertine Graben in Uganda.

It comes as the company prepares to drill the Mukuyu-1 well targeting stacked Triassic and younger sandstones within a 200km2 four-way dip closure on the basement high trend. That could host gross mean recoverable conventional potential of 20 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) and 845 million barrels of conventional gas condensate.

It will be followed by the Baobab-1 well, which targets stacked Cretaceous and younger sandstones, within four-way and three-way dip closures, against the southern basin bounding rift fault.

“We are extremely pleased to have completed the assignment of the exploration rights which sees our footprint cover the entire conventional oil and gas play fairway in the Cabora Bassa Basin,” managing director Scott Macmillan said.

“In relation to our first well Mukuyu-1, the rig maintenance is nearing completion and the final outstanding well services equipment will arrive in the coming days.

“Following the rig acceptance once the commissioning and testing has been completed it will allow for the spud of Mukuyu-1, the first well in our high impact exploration campaign which will then be followed by Baobab-1.

“Subject to making an opening discovery with either Mukuyu-1 or Baobab-1, it could potentially provide Invictus with future discoveries on a large scale within the basin.”

This article was developed in collaboration with Invictus Energy, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.