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Writes Hopewell Chibvongodze
Companies prospecting for gas and oil in the Zambezi Basin in Muzarabani are soon expected to start commercial extraction of the commodities, a Cabinet Minister said on Monday.
Mines and Mining Development Minister, Zhemu Soda told a press conference that Zimbabwe is on course to become a player in the oil and gas industry after Australian investor, Geo Associates and its partners, Invictus Energy and One Gas Resource confirmed the presence of natural gas, light oil, Helium and Hydrogen at its Mukuyu deposit.
Soda said the mining companies had promised the government to commence the commercialisation and monetising activities soon.
“The results are that the natural gas is of high quality with minimal impurities and that there is no Hydrogen Sulphide in the samples (which is an undesirable constituent in oil and gas). Above all, the oil discovered falls into the light oil classification. This is the oil classification that produces diesel, petrol as well as jet A1. The presence of helium and hydrogen that has also been confirmed becomes a welcome bonus from the Mukuyu deposit,” he said.
He said the results obtained recently from the laboratory analysis conducted confirm the presence of natural gas, light oil condensate as well as helium and hydrogen.
Meanwhile, the investors will continue with the Zimbabwe Cabora Bassa basin-wide exploration and also focus on commercializing and monetizing the declared discoveries whilst exploration work continues.
Invictus Energy Limited is an independent upstream oil and gas company headquartered in Australia with offices in Harare and operates the Cabora Basin project in Zimbabwe.
Its main assets are two promising blocks in Zimbabwe’s Cabora Bassa Basin, one of Africa’s vast and under-explored rift valleys.
Mukuyu structure was drilled late in 2022, confirming the presence of hydrocarbons in the basin and boosting the prospects of other targets.