• Invictus Energy secures production-sharing agreement approval
• Project targets pilot gas production and power generation
• Mukuyu field holds an estimated 20 Tcf of gas

Invictus Energy said today, December 22, that development of the Cabora Bassa gas project in northern Zimbabwe has accelerated after authorities approved a production-sharing agreement. The approval gives the company, which holds an 80% interest in the project, a stable legal and fiscal framework to plan investment, appraisal work, and further exploration across the basin.

Under the announced work program, Invictus plans a detailed evaluation of the Mukuyu gas field and the drilling of the Musuma-1 well, the first exploration target outside the initial discovery area. Mukuyu remains the core asset of the project. Current estimates point to an unrisked mean gross conventional potential of about 20 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas and 845 million barrels of condensate.

Following the Mukuyu-1 and Mukuyu-2 wells, consultancy Wood Mackenzie ranked the discovery as sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest in 2023.

On the regulatory front, the project passed another milestone in February 2025, when Zimbabwe’s Environmental Management Agency approved the environmental and social impact assessment. That decision allows Invictus Energy to move ahead with a pilot production phase, which represents the first industrial application of the resource identified since the company secured the Cabora Bassa acreage in 2018.

Gas supply for industry

The pilot phase is expected to include power generation using gas from the Mukuyu field, with electricity supplied to the Eureka gold mine. The plan is based on a memorandum of understanding signed in April 2024 between Invictus Energy, mining operator Dallaglio, and power provider Himoinsa. Initial generating capacity is set at 12 MW, with potential expansion to as much as 50 MW. Gas prices under the project could exceed $10 per gigajoule at start-up.

For Zimbabwean authorities, Cabora Bassa fits into a broader strategy focused on energy security and economic diversification. The government has highlighted the establishment of a dedicated legal and fiscal framework aimed at structuring a domestic oil and gas industry that remains at an early stage.

Zimbabwe does not yet have commercial gas production, but the sequence of contractual and environmental approvals brings the project closer to a first operational milestone.

Olivier de Souza