Page 9 - AfrElec Week 43 2022

AfrElec POLICY AfrElec

Gas to help ease Zimbabwe’s

energy crisis if Invictus makes

commercial discovery

ZIMBABWE AUSTRALIAN oil and gas explorer Invictus from the fault plane where conventional reser-
Energy (Invictus) has reported encounter- voir quality is likely to be present.
ing potential hydrocarbons based on elevated “The Mukuyu-1 well trajectory has been
resistivity at a site it is drilling in northeastern designed primarily to test the Pebbly Arkose and
Zimbabwe. Upper Angwa targets in a crestal location and to
In a release on Wednesday (October 26), intersect the amplitude anomalies and flat spots
the AIM-listed company said drilling of the 12 observed within them.
¼ inch hole section at its Mukuyu-1 well of the “The presence of a thick regional shale sitting
Cabora Bassa Basin has been completed and sec- above the traps, reservoir targets and source rock
tion total depth was called at 2,021 metres meas- reduces the key risk of seal presence and effec-
ured depth in order to set the 9 ⅝ inch casing tiveness for the primary targets identified pre-
near the base of a substantial regional seal above drill. The well remains on track to be completed
the primary targets. in the previously guided timeframe.”
“Following the completion of the first suite of Meanwhile, in an annual report released on
wireline logging, a zone of interest in the second- Friday (October 21), Invictus chairman Stuart
ary objective in the 200 Horizon target coinci- Lake said a commercial discovery of hydrocr-
dent with observed seismic amplitude anomalies bons at the permit could boost energy security
was interpreted to contain potential hydrocar- in Zimbabwe and other countries in southern
bons based on significantly elevated resistivity Africa.
(two orders of magnitude above baseline) across “Energy security has become a key topic
a 10-15m interval from approximately 785m within the current geopolitical backdrop,” he
measured depth and separation between shal- said. “The Cabora Bassa project, if successful, is
low, medium and deep resistivity readings.” expected to provide a reliable domestic supply,
It noted that further analysis of the zone was which would bolster Zimbabwe’s self-sufficiency
interpreted to have tight reservoir properties and drive further development of its energy-re-
with complex mineralogy and a decision was lated infrastructure.”
made to forgo running the formation pressure/ Southern African nations produce the bulk
sampling wireline tool without the appropriate of their electricity from coal, with South Africa,
sampling probe and packers available. the continent’s most developed economy’s
Invictus started the drilling campaign in Sep- energy mix 80% dependent on the fossil fuel.
tember targeting an estimated 20tcf and 845mn The region has also experienced a shortage since
barrels of conventional gas condensate across 2007, resulting in rolling outages.
seven stacked targets. “Our project is aligned with helping host
“The initial results from wireline logging and economies achieve growth, while also meeting
potential for hydrocarbons is very encouraging their carbon offset targets,” Lake added. “Invic-
as we prepare to drill our primary targets in the tus’s business plan is indicative of our commit-
Upper Angwa and Pebbly Arkose formations,” ment to being a significant and successful part
Invictus managing director Scott Macmillan said of helping meet the dual challenge of the energy
“We will integrate the data we have gathered transition in not only lowering emissions, but
from the drilling, logs and seismic analysis to also ensuring energy security, and we are proud
determine an optimal future location to test of our positioning within this dynamic and crit-
the 200 Horizon in an up dip position and away ical sector.” ™

Week 43 26•October•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9