Zimbabwe: Invictus Energy makes a "significant" onshore natural gas discovery

Australia's Invictus Energy Ltd. has discovered natural gas in northern Zimbabwe, almost three decades after Exxon Mobil Corp. put its quest for crude oil in the region on hold.

Four samples from the Mukuyu-2 well at the Cabora Bassa project showed the presence of natural gas, the company said in a statement. While this is a boon for the southern African country, Invictus needs to drill more wells to assess volumes, and it will take years of further investment before any production can begin.

"The discovery represents one of the most significant developments in Southern Africa's onshore oil and gas industry in decades," said managing director Scott Macmillan in a company statement.

"The discovery of Mukuyu-2, 7 km away and 450 m upstream of the Mukuyu-1 well, which can subsequently be classified as a discovery, confirms the significant potential of the Mukuyu field, which has a structural closure of more than 200 km. ² , he continued.

The discovery "confirms the great potential of the Mukuyu field," said Macmillan. "With more hydrocarbon reservoirs to come, the focus is now on completing the drilling and appraisal program."

Invictus shares jumped 28%, the highest in a year.

Exxon, then Mobil Oil Corp. abandoned exploration in Zimbabwe in the 1990s after concluding that any finds were more likely to contain gas than oil. Its data was used by Invictus, which in March last year signed an agreement with Zimbabwe to increase its exploration license area sevenfold.