In a few coming years, Africa will host several High Impact Wells, which when explored have the potential to reform the entire E&P landscape of the continent. One of such high im5pact well is the axis mundi of today’s post- Cahora Bassa.

Cabora Bassa or Cahora Bassa, finish the job is Africa’s fourth largest (with surface area of 2,739km2) artificial lake, located in the Tete province of western Mozambique. The second name is a colonial relic of the Portuguese Mozambique.

On the adjourning basin of that lake - in neighbouring Zimbabwe, lie a promising hydrocarbon project, widely publicized on the media as Cabora Bassa. It is one of the last untested large frontier rift basins in onshore Africa, according to Oil and Gas Journal.

All things being as planned, the successful completion of the prospective oil and gas project, will launch Zimbabwe on the edge of a major transformative breakthrough because it boasts of commercial oil and gas discovery.

Bassa will be one -of the world’s first carbon neutral oil and gas project; from the exploration phase to decommissioning. Basically, it consists of three carbon offset projects awarded to Australian company - Invictus Energy Limited in the south of the country, and covering some 301,565 hectares of indigenous forests. Many environmentalists in the country and abroad have raised questions over its perceived danger to the environment. Perhaps, that is why the project is going to be carbon-neutral. The Bassa project will not only offset emissions, but also help ensure to preserve zimbabwe’s rich biodiversity.

The Zimbabwean government reaching a petroleum exploration development and production agreement with Invictus last year to begin drilling campaigns on two wells in the basin. One of the wells is Mukuyu-1, a rich oil field which has an estimated 20 trillion cft of gas, and 845 million bbls of conventional condensate (on a gross mean unrisked basis). Invictus is hoping to see commercial finds in the second well codenamed Baobab-1.

With Bassa, commercial discovery oil and gas discovery in Zimbabwe is assured. Mobilization of oil rigs for the project is almost complete and drilling proper would commence soon.

Energy self-sufficiency, job creation, massive infrastructure development, and a spring up of many allied downstream industries are some of the various advantages that come with the looming oil exploration and production activities.

Zimbabwe runs a commodity-based economy, and depends so much on gold, coal, lithium, chrome, nickel, platinum, diamond and copper, etc.

With petroleum now joining the list, the Southern African country targets $12 billion in economic benefits from the mining sector by next year.

Invictus Energy Ltd is the operator of the Cabora Bassa project with 80% equity interest, while Baker and Hughes is the integrated well services provider of the project, with Exalo as the rig contractor.

With the huge success recorded with the Mukuyu well so far, Invictus has concluded an assignment agreement with the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Zimbabwe to expand its exploration footprint across the entire Bassa basin.