Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed oil and gas firm Invictus Energy has started assembling drilling equipment in Muzarabani, Mashonaland Central Zimbabwe.
The discovery of oil and gas would result in energy self-sufficiency, massive job creation, export growth, infrastructure development and new downstream industries.
The project has already been granted national project status. The prospective resource estimate at Mukuyu-1 was recently revised by consultancy firm ERCE, 2,7-fold to 20 trillion cubic feet of gas and 845 million barrels of conventional condensate on a gross mean unrisked basis.
This consolidates the Muzarabani project area’s position as one of the largest under-explored seismically defined bodies onshore in Africa.
Meanwhile, communities around Muzarabani and Mbire in Mashonaland Central province have begun benefiting from Invictus’ corporate social responsibility programmes. The project will prioritise locals for most job opportunities.
Zimbabwe is a commodity-based economy, depending largely on gold, platinum group metals, nickel, chrome, diamond, coal, lithium and copper, among others.
Therefore, the Commercial discovery of oil and gas would bring immense economic benefits for the country, which is targeting to grow the mining industry to a US$12 billion economy by next year.
