Oliver Kazunga-Senior Reporter
ZIMBABWE is moving closer to commercialising its Cabora Bassa gas discoveries, with the Australia-headquartered firm, Invictus Energy, advancing plans for early gas supplies to power generation, mining and industry.
The development marks a potential shift in the multi-billion-dollar project from exploration towards production, following the signing of a Petroleum Production Sharing Agreement (PPSA) with the Government and environmental approval for pilot gas production.
Invictus, which is exploring for hydrocarbons in Mbire and Muzarabani districts in Mashonaland Central, said the PPSA, National Project Status and renewed exploration licences had created a framework for taking the project into its next phase.
In its annual financial report for the year ended June 2026, Invictus, which is dually listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange, said the PPSA signed with the Government in May this year established the basis for future development of the Cabora Bassa project.
Invictus described the agreement as a milestone that provides a framework for commercialising its discoveries and attracting further investment into the project.
“The agreement represents the culmination of several years of detailed engagement between the company, Government and their respective advisors.
“Its execution establishes a hybrid profit and production-sharing structure and a stable, transparent and internationally competitive legal and fiscal foundation on which to commercialise our discoveries,” Invictus said.
The agreement was accompanied by the granting of National Project Status, which comes with fiscal and non-fiscal incentives aimed at facilitating development of the project.
The firm said the status, together with the PPSA and the extension of its exploration rights, would help attract capital, strategic investors, upstream partners and investment in related infrastructure.
Invictus has secured environmental approval for pilot production activities covering the extraction, processing, liquefaction and transportation of gas from Mukuyu and the wider licence area.
The approval provides a pathway for the company to pursue early gas monetisation while appraisal and planning for full-field development continue.
Invictus is already engaging potential customers in the power generation, mining, industrial and fertiliser sectors as it assesses how the gas can be brought into the market.
The company is also considering longer-term options, including baseload gas-to-power, industrial gas supplies and potential access to regional electricity markets through the Southern African Power Pool.
Invictus said indigenous natural gas had the potential to provide a scalable energy source, while supporting industrial development and mining investment.
“Zimbabwe and its neighbouring markets continue to rely heavily on expensive imported liquid fuels and face material electricity supply constraints.
“Indigenous natural gas has the potential to provide a lower-cost, reliable and scalable source of energy while supporting industrial development, mining investment and regional energy security,” it said.
While the company advances the plan to monetise the Mukuyu discovery, it is preparing for another major exploration programme that could expand the resource base.
Invictus plans to drill the Musuma-1 prospect in November this year in the eastern portion of its 360 000-hectare licence area.
The prospect has a gross mean unrisked target of 1,2 trillion cubic feet of gas and 73 million barrels of condensate, according to the company.
Musuma-1 will test a previously undrilled portion of the basin and a new play type, potentially providing another test of the hydrocarbon potential of the wider Cabora Bassa area.
Since the end of the financial year under review, Invictus said it had revised its rig contract with Exalo Drilling for Rig 202, secured drilling and well services from SLB and advanced civil works and logistics planning.
The company has also upgraded its Zambezi Valley supply base ahead of the drilling campaign.
“Musuma-1 will test a large independent prospect in a previously undrilled portion of the basin and represents another opportunity to materially expand the resource base within our acreage.”
And for the country, the immediate significance of the Cabora Bassa project now extends beyond exploration, with the focus increasingly shifting towards whether the country’s emerging gas industry can translate discoveries into commercial energy supplies for the domestic economy.
Source: Zim moves towards Cabora Bassa gas production – herald
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