MUZARABANI – Australian company Invictus Energy Ltd has started drilling one of two oil and gas exploration wells in northern Zimbabwe, the company announced on Monday.
The 3.5 kilometer deep well in the Muzarabani-Mbire area is part of the Cabora Bassa project in Zimbabwe, 80% owned by Invictus and operated through its stake in Geo Associates.
Invictus said in a statement that drilling of the first well, Mukuyu-1, began on Friday and will take between 50 and 60 days.
Mukuyu, which will cost $16 million, is one of the largest oil and gas prospects to be drilled in the world in 2022 and is estimated to have 20 trillion cubic feet and 845 million barrels of conventional gas condensate, or about 4, 3 billion barrels of oil equivalent, says the company.
Invictus Energy Ltd has been prospecting for oil and gas in the Cabora Bassa and Zambezi basins for four years.
The company said Mukuyu-1 will be followed by the 1.5 km deep Baobab-1 well, which will be completed in 30 to 40 days.
Last month, Invictus Energy Ltd raised an additional $17 million to fund the drilling of exploration wells through a private placement.
- Editor/ additional report by Reuters
