Muzarabani potential staggering: Invictus 

Source: Muzarabani potential staggering: Invictus – DailyNews Live

BUSINESS WRITER      23 November 2018 \

HARARE – Stock Exchange (ASX) junior miner, Invictus Energy (Invictus),
says there is “additional potential” at its controversial Cabora Bassa
Basin oil prospects in Muzarabani.

Scott Macmillan, Invictus chief executive, on Monday told shareholders
that while the project’s potential had been confirmed through an
independent report, the estimate from the independent report excluded
additional leads that had been discovered, hinting potential was greater
than initially projected.

“The size of the primary Angwa target alone in Muzarabani Prospect places
us in giant scale field potential. I must point out that this estimate
excludes the additional potential in the horizons above and below the
Upper Angwa and the additional plays and leads we have identified in our
area acreage,” he said at the junior miner’s Annual General Meeting in
Perth.

The Invictus boss pointed out that technical work was to progress into
2019 as the firm ascertained the prospect’s potential.

“Our technical work will progress into the New Year which will enable us
to quantify this additional potential and is expected to add materially to
our already world-class prospective resource base…The potential of our
acreage is truly staggering for a company of our size,” he said.

Invictus – a penny stock whose only asset is the Muzarabani find which is
part of the Cabora Bassa Basin – has created a storm with energy experts
highlighting the firm has no capacity to conduct on-site drilling.

This comes as President Emmerson Mnangagwa hastily granted Special Grant
4571, a three-year grant, to the firm in 2017 after rising to power.

Against caution from energy experts, Mnangagwa last month announced
Invictus had discovered an oil bonanza, saying Invictus was moving to
enter a production sharing arrangement with Zimbabwe once the project
reached commercial production.

While barely 24 hours later, the junior miner swiftly moved to downplay
the statement leaving egg on the president’s face, Macmillan now claims
the bonanza is bigger than expected.

“Invictus plans to do what is called farming-out. So essentially they will
get a real oil and gas company to do the drilling and production and they
will be paid a royalty.

“Nothing wrong with that for them but everything wrong for Zimbabwe
because it means our royalty interest is significantly reduced. In
Australia it is not even named among the top 50 oil companies because it’s
not even considered an active energy company,” a United States-based
Zimbabwean energy expert said.

At the time of Mnangagwa’s announcement, Invictus’ shares were suspended
from trading on the ASX pending the release of an announcement regarding
the Maiden Prospective Resource Estimate.

Invictus was formerly known as Interpose Holdings Ltd and changed its name
recently. Before that, it had changed its name from Sunbird Energy. The
junior miner issued 150 million shares and raised A$4,5 million in June
2018.

Before its suspension prior to the oil bonanza announcement, its share
price was illiquid and traded at a mere $0,03.