Invictus Energy has renewed its exclusive prospecting orders (EPOs) 1848 and 1849 in Zimbabwe’s Cabora Bassa Basin for a further three-year term.
A statement from the Australia-based independent oil and gas explorer reveals the Mining Affairs Board of Zimbabwe has approved the renewal, with publication in the government gazette set to be released.
“The new exploration phase will include drilling the high-impact Musuma-1 well, which targets an estimated 1.2 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas and 73 million barrels of condensate”, the statement reads in part.
The licenses are held through Geo Associates Ltd. —a 80% owned subsidiary of Invictus—following assignment by the Mutapa Investment Fund.
EPOs 1848 and 1849 host multiple high-potential plays.
The Eastern Margin gas play hosts eight high potential prospects totalling 2.9 Tcf of gas and 184 million barrels of condensate while the Basin Margin oil play hosts five prospects containing an estimated 1.2 billion barrels of oil.
Earlier this month, the Invictus-operated Cabora Bassa Project received “National Project Status” by the Zimbabwe Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube.
A project can only attain the National Project Status (NPS) when it is deemed of strategic importance to the country and considered critical to Zimbabwe’s economic growth and development.
The status provides a range of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to the project until the development phase, including;
- duty exemptions
- fast-tracked permitting
- streamlined access to key infrastructure and services
The Zimbabwean government and Invictus have also finalised terms of the Petroleum Production Sharing Agreement (PPSA) that is set to kick into force soon.
This comes weeks after the Qatari investment group Al Mansour Holdings agreed to provide up to $500m in financing for Cabora Bassa. The group eyes a 19.9% stake in Invictus Energy.