ZIMBABWE’S US$90BN MUZARABANI OIL HOPE LOCKS IN NOVEMBER DRILL DATE AFTER RIG DEAL
By Gabriel Manyati
Zimbabwe’s ambitious Muzarabani oil and gas venture, valued at an estimated US$90 billion in place, has secured a firm November 2026 start for its next major exploration well after Invictus Energy signed a revised drilling contract.
The Australian-listed company finalised a Deed of Variation with Exalo Drilling S.A., locking in Exalo Rig 202 for the Musuma 1 well. This high impact probe targets a gross mean unrisked prospective resource of 1.2 trillion cubic feet of gas and 73 million barrels of condensate in the eastern part of the Cabora Bassa licence.
Managing Director Scott Macmillan said the deal allows the company to confirm the November spud. “Musuma 1 is a high impact exploration well with the potential to materially expand the resource base of the Cabora Bassa Project and complement the Mukuyu gas condensate discovery,” he noted.
Exalo is now preparing a full maintenance and readiness programme for the rig before moving it from the Mukuyu area to the new site. Inspection work is complete and teams from Exalo, Invictus and Geo Associates are coordinating the next steps. Procurement of remaining well services is well advanced, with contracts due for award soon followed by staged equipment mobilisation.
Wellpad construction and related civil works are set to begin next week once traditional cultural ceremonies with local leaders and host communities are concluded. The programme covers the wellpad itself, supporting infrastructure and necessary road upgrades to allow safe movement of the rig and services.
The latest contract follows the formal signing in May 2026 of the Petroleum Production Sharing Agreement between the Government of Zimbabwe and Geo Associates, Invictus’s 80 percent owned subsidiary. That deal established the legal and fiscal framework for exploration, production and revenue sharing across the project. It uses a hybrid model under which government can take its share in cash or in petroleum products on a sliding scale linked to project returns.
The wider Cabora Bassa Basin is estimated to hold roughly 1.38 billion barrels of oil and condensate. The Mukuyu gas field alone is assessed at up to 20 trillion cubic feet of gas and 845 million barrels of conventional gas condensate. Independent valuations place the in-place resources at about US$90 billion at current prices.
The project already enjoys National Project Status and Special Economic Zone designation, offering fiscal and non fiscal incentives that ease equipment imports and speed development. Zimbabwe’s sovereign wealth fund, the Mutapa Investment Fund, holds a significant shareholding through the project structure.
With wellpad works, civil construction, logistics and rig maintenance all advancing in parallel, the critical path items are now under way to meet the November timetable. Macmillan said the company looks forward to further updates as it enters the execution phase of the drilling campaign.