Invictus to explore eastern Cabora Bassa basin in Zimbabwe
Invictus Energy Ltd. is preparing for an appraisal and exploration campaign in Zimbabwe’s Cabora Bassa basin. Preparations for Mukuyu-2 appraisal and the Phase 2 exploration campaign are under way, with a 2D seismic campaign expected to begin in May, the company said in a release noting a recent private placement that received commitments of $10 million.
The 2D seismic acquisition program, pending contract award, will cover the eastern portion of EPO 1848 & 1849. The campaign will be aimed at maturing multiple leads (Mopane, Musuma, Machabel, and Mahogany) along the proven play on trend to the east of Mukuyu and additional leads along the highly prospective Basin Margin play (Mimosa and Mukwa), the company said. Modern 2D seismic should mature a number of leads, previously identified on reprocessed vintage seismic data, to drillable prospects, Invictus continued.
The first well in the Mukuyu appraisal program, Mukuyu-2, will be spudded early in third-quarter 2023, targeting multiple hydrocarbon (gas-condensate, light oil) bearing intervals encountered in the Mukuyu-1/ST1 well in the Upper Angwa and Pebbly Arkose formations, with the aim of confirming a gas condensate discovery (OGJ Online, Oct 7, 2022). The appraisal will also test the Post Dande horizon away from the major east-west fault on the southern flank and the deeper potential in the remaining Upper Angwa formation, which was not encountered in the Mukuyu-1/ST1 campaign due to it being thicker than pre drill estimates.
The Mukuyu-1/ST1 well encountered gas pay to total depth, interpreted from wireline logs and fluorescence in multiple reservoirs throughout the 1,500-m interval penetrated in the Pebbly Arkose and Upper Angwa.
Maintenance and upgrade of Exalo’s Rig 202 started this month and will be completed prior to the rig move and spudding of Mukuyu-2.
The Cabora Bassa project, otherwise known as Special Grant 4571, comprises 250,000 acres of Cabora Bassa basin. In August 2022 Invictus entered into an agreement with the sovereign wealth fund of Zimbabwe to increase the license area to a total of 360,000 hectares.
Invictus Energy is operator at Cabora Bassa with 80% interest.
Alex Procyk | Upstream Editor
Alex Procyk is Upstream Editor at Oil & Gas Journal. He has also served as a principal technical professional at Halliburton and as a completion engineer at ConocoPhillips. He holds a BS in chemistry (1987) from Kent State University and a PhD in chemistry (1992) from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).
