Oil explorer projects bigger Zim find…as first test well drill progresses to 600m

AUSTRALIA Stock Exchange-listed resources firm Invictus Energy yesterday said there could be a bigger resource at its Zimbabwean oil and gas claims than previously projected.

Seismic survey results by leading petroleum consultancy, ERCE, bolstered potential prospective resource estimates at Invictus’ Cabora Bassa claims near Mahuwe to over 5,5 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe).

The data added excitement to developments at the oilfields.

Hours earlier, Invictus had said Mukuyu 1 test well drilling had progressed to 600 metres.

It said engineers were proceeding to place casing on the well.

Invictus said ERCE estimated a prospective resource of 1,2 billion boe for the five “drill-ready” prospects.

These are Baobab, Acacia, Marula, Mukamba and Mimosa prospects.

It added to a major resource upgrade for Mukuyu 1, which came through in July.

“The material prospective resource estimate for the five drill-ready basin margin prospects confirms the high potential and quality of our acreage and prospect and lead inventory,” Invictus managing director Scott Macmillan said.

“Invictus has built and matured a high-quality and material portfolio of prospects and leads from a conceptual play initially identified on sparse vintage data to multiple drill-ready prospects with 1,2 billion barrels of potential,” he said.

Invictus said based on 80% of the project, its net share of the basin margin area resource was equivalent to 937 million boe and 4,4 billion boe for the whole project area.

Macmillan added: “This substantial resource potential in the basin margin play places it at comparable scale to the prolific East African Rift System that resulted in material discoveries in the “String of Pearls” plays in Kenya and Uganda.

“The material prospective resource estimate for the five drill-ready basin margin prospects confirms the high potential and quality of our acreage and prospect and lead inventory.

“Prior to the acquisition of the CB21 seismic survey, we recognised the potential for the basin margin to evolve into a substantial play due to the structural similarities we observed with the East Africa Rift ‘string of pearls’ play.

“Our basin master position encompassing the entire conventional oil and gas play fairway, multiple play types to target and over 5,5 billion boe potential provides us with substantial running room. Subject to making an opening discovery with either Mukuyu-1 or Baobab-1, it could potentially provide us with future discoveries on a large scale within the basin.”-newsday