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Wednesday, August 17, 2022
Invictus Energy announced that is has expanded its footprint in the Cabora Bassa project in Zimbabwe. Invictus’ 80% owned subsidiary Geo Associates and the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Zimbabwe (SWFZ) have executed an assignment agreement for the exploration rights to Exclusive Prospecting Orders (EPOs) 1848 and 1849.
EPOs 1848 and 1849 are contiguous to the company’s current SG 4571 license, with the newly combined area covering the entire conventional oil and gas play fairway in the Cabora Bassa Basin.
The Assignment follows gazettal of the EPOs and Heads of Agreement with the SWFZ, as detailed in the ASX release on 28 March 2022, where the Parties agreed to collaborate in exploration for oil and gas within RA MSC003 Cabora Bassa South.
The Exploration Licenses cover a combined area of around 360,000 hectares, with EPOs 1848 and 1849 each covering an area of approx. 130,000 hectares and the current SG 4571 license area covering a further 100,000 hectares. The Exploration Licenses include the newly identified Basin Margin play and entire prospective oil and gas fairway covered by the recently completed high resolution CB21 2D Seismic Survey.
Invictus states that it has selected the Baobab-1 as its Basin Margin play-opening well. The Baobab-1 is now the commitment well to be drilled in the expanded license area. The Baobab prospect will test one of the multiple Basin Margin targets which display similar structural characteristics to the prolific East Africa Rift ‘String of Pearls’ play and provided material discoveries in the Lokichar Basin in Kenya and Albertine Graben in Uganda.
The Assignment confers all exploration rights and obligations for EPOs 1848 and 1849 from SWFZ to Geo Associates and conversion to a Special Grant upon application following a commercial discovery. The SWFZ will be entitled to a 10 per cent back-in right within six months of an announcement of Final Investment Decision to develop any commercial discovery.
The residual area to the west and east of Exploration Licenses in the Cabora Bassa Basin under RA MSC003 Cabora Bassa South, which was initially considered in the HoA with the SWFZ, are not prospective for conventional oil and gas due to outcropping of target stratigraphy to surface.
Invictus Managing Director Scott Macmillan commented: “We are extremely pleased to have concluded the Assignment Agreement with the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Zimbabwe to expand our exploration footprint in the Cabora Bassa Basin.
“The combined Exploration Licenses provide us with a basin master position encompassing the entire conventional oil and gas play fairway and running room in the basin. The Exploration Licenses are focused on the core prospective area in the basin, which is covered by our CB21 Seismic Survey and minimizes our holding costs through the relinquishment of non-prospective areas in the basin…”
Macmillan continued, “We are excited to confirm Baobab-1 as the second well to be drilled in our basin opening exploration program, which will target the newly identified basin margin play, displaying similar characteristics to the prolific East Africa Rift ‘String of Pearls’ play. Subject to making an opening discovery with either Mukuyu-1 or Baobab-1, it could potentially provide us with future discoveries on a large scale within the basin.”
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