Invictus Energy has cleared a major logistical milestone ahead of its next drilling campaign in the Cabora Bassa Basin in northern Zimbabwe, with the completion and handover of the Musuma-1 well pad.
The Australian developer said on Friday morning that construction of the Musuma-1 pad, including all civil works and access road upgrades, is complete. Drilling contractor Exalo Drilling SA has inspected, accepted and signed off the site.
The well pad provides the platform for the wellhead — the surface equipment that provides structural support and pressure containment — and acts as the key interface between the underground well and surface drilling facilities.
Its completion paves the way for the immediate relocation of Exalo’s Rig 202 from the Mukuyu-2 site to Musuma-1, moving the project from civil engineering into active exploration.
Musuma-1 is the next high-impact exploration well to be drilled at Invictus’s 80 per cent-owned and operated Cabora Bassa Project. It remains on track to spud — start physical drilling — in November.
With the pad now accepted, preparations are advancing for the rig move. Once on site, Exalo will undertake rig-up, complete planned maintenance and carry out a final rig inspection ahead of drilling.
Managing director Scott Macmillan said the handover was an important step.
“The completion and formal acceptance of the Musuma-1 well pad by Exalo represents another important milestone in our preparations for the upcoming drilling campaign,” he said.
“With the well pad, civil works and access roads now completed, we have cleared a key logistical milestone and can progress the relocation of Rig 202 from Mukuyu-2 to the Musuma-1 site.
“Our operational focus is now firmly on the rig move, rig-up and completion of the remaining maintenance activities ahead of final rig acceptance and drilling commencement.”
The development follows successful drilling at Mukuyu-1 and Mukuyu-2, the first two exploration and appraisal wells drilled by Invictus in the basin, which confirmed a major natural gas and gas-condensate discovery.
The initial discoveries at the Mukuyu field are estimated to hold about 1.3 trillion cubic feet of gas equivalent, or roughly 230 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Broader independent assessments of the overall Mukuyu prospect and surrounding structure indicate potential upside of up to 20 trillion cubic feet of gas and 845 million barrels of conventional gas condensate, translating to an estimated 4.3 billion to 5.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent across the wider Cabora Bassa Basin.
Source: Invictus clears key hurdle ahead of Musuma-1 drilling in Cabora Bassa ⋆ Pindula News
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