Invictus ups oil, gas exploration acreage

Invictus Energy, the Australian firm exploring for oil and gas in the northern parts of Zimbabwe, says its 2 dimension (2D) seismic data acquisition on two blocks of additional prospective land the company received from the Government will be completed next month.

The company received the expanded exploration acreage after the Government gazetted the transfer of the exploration rights of the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Zimbabwe in the Cabora Bassa Basin.

This increases the acreage on which the junior energy minerals exploration company can investigate the presence of petroleum products, which would go a long way in ensuring Zimbabwe’s energy security and driving economic growth.

President Mnangagwa said in 2021 that “the prospect of oil discovery is exciting”, which will inevitably positively impact local communities and the national economy at large.

Prior to receiving the expanded exploration land, Invictus already held rights to Special Grant 4571, which straddles Muzarabani and Mbire districts of Mashonaland Central Province, for oil and gas exploration.

Invictus carried out similar preliminary work of SG4571 on which the company has since undertaken the first exploration drilling at the Mukuyu-1 wellsite, which has confirmed the presence of hydrocarbons.

Seismic study in oil and gas exploration refers to the process of using high-tech equipment to listen to underground sound vibrations to determine the existence of hydrocarbons.

In its latest update, Invictus said work was progressing according to plan on the Cabora Bassa 2023 2D seismic acquisition programme being carried out by Canadian firm Polaris Natural Resource Development Ltd (Polaris).

“Having also acquired Invictus’ CB21 seismic survey, Polaris are well-placed to deliver safe and efficient operations. A total of 425 kilometres of lines have been successfully and safely cleared and the layout of receiver nodes is well underway.

“The first recorded data has been acquired and the survey is expected to be complete in mid-August.

“The programme is a key part of the company’s Phase 2 exploration campaign in the Cabora Bassa Basin, with the new seismic lines tying-in to existing legacy data, including Invictus’ 2021 survey,” said Invictus.

In 2021, the Australian firm carried out the first seismic data collection for the Muzarabani/Mbire oil and gas project to identify the best spots to drill exploration wells.

The ongoing seismic campaign will incorporate the company’s experience from the successful 2021 seismic survey data acquisition.

Invictus managing director Mr Scott Macmillan said “The company is pleased to have already made significant progress with the 2D seismic data acquisition campaign in (Exclusive Prospecting Order) EPO 1848 and EPO 1849.

“Seismic acquisition has commenced across several exciting leads on trend from Mukuyu and we anticipate maturing a number of these to drill ready prospects, which will add to our already world-class exploration portfolio and substantial prospective resource base.

“We are extremely pleased with the performance of Polaris and the local field crew who completed 425km of seismic line preparation ahead of the data acquisition, which will ensure the campaign is completed seamlessly.”

He said the 2023 seismic survey had generated over 100 direct jobs during the campaign for the local communities, as well as the procurement of goods and services from local suppliers.

The local community engagement is in keeping with the company’s shared prosperity approach, ensuring all stakeholders, including the local community, benefit from finding, developing and producing natural resources.

“The company also continued our student and lecturer attachment program from the local universities to develop and transfer skills in the oil and gas industry,” said Macmillan.

Meanwhile, Invictus has awarded the 2D seismic processing contract to Earth Signal Processing Ltd Earth Signal processed the CB21 survey for Invictus and this prior experience will enable an efficient processing workflow and provide a seamless, high-quality dataset across the basin.

herald