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President Emmerson Mnangagwa has officially announced oil and gas deposits discovery in Muzarabani, Mashonaland Central province, following a study carried out by an Australian company, Invictus Energy Limited.
In a televised address to the nation late afternoon today, President Mnangagwa said, government in the last few months worked with and facilitated Invictus, which is quoted on the Australian Stock Exchange, to undertake oil and gas exploration studies in Muzarabani.
He revealed that government has been advised by Invictus that the findings “are positive and point to oil and gas deposits in this area”, adding that Invictus and their partners will be making a statement to their shareholders through the Australian Stock Exchange in a few hours.
“Invictus is utilising data which was generated by Mobil Oil in the early 1990s when extensive oil and gas geophysical work was undertaken in the greater Muzarabani area. As part of its exploration studies, Invictus has engaged a number of world-wide professional companies with extensive experience in oil and gas,” said President Mnangagwa.
President Mnangagwa said the findings by Invictus are an exciting development for the country, adding that government will work closely with the firm.
“The govt of Zimbabwe will work very closely with Invictus to ensure that the Invictus realises its plans to sink an exploration well by mid-2020. After exploration well, the next stage will be commercial exploitation of the resource,” he said.
The President further highlighted that in the interim, additional geophysical work is on-going to identify further exploration targets, while updates will be given as and when the planned exploration work results come in.
He noted that, on its part, Invictus has committed itself to enter a production-sharing agreement will the government of Zimbabwe, which will be applicable when the project proceeds to commercial production stage.
Invictus Energy Limited is an independent oil and gas exploration Australian firm focused on high impact energy resources in sub-Saharan Africa.– zbc.co.zw
Bongani Ndlovu