Africa-focused Invictus Energy advances Zimbabwe gas development ahead of AEW 2026

Invictus Energy (ASX:IVZ, VFEX:INV, OTCQB:IVCTF) will participate in African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 as a Bronze Partner, bringing Zimbabwe’s Cabora Bassa Basin development to the continent’s energy investment forum, the African Energy Chamber (AEC) said in a media statement on August 31.

The partnership comes as the Australia-based independent upstream oil and gas company moves from frontier exploration towards commercial development after discoveries, regulatory progress and a petroleum production sharing agreement (PPSA) governing petroleum operations across the full lifecycle of the Cabora Bassa project.

Invictus holds an 80% interest in the project across 360,000 hectares in the Cabora Bassa Basin. According to the company, its Mukuyu discovery contains an estimated 4.2 trillion cubic feet of gas, equivalent to about 118.9bn cubic metres (bcm) of gas, and 264 million barrels of condensate, which could support domestic gas supply and power generation.

The company signed the PPSA with the Republic of Zimbabwe in May, setting the fiscal and commercial terms for future development. The agreement gives the state a 20% interest and includes the Mutapa Investment Fund, with Zimbabwe able to take its share through profits or physical gas volumes.

Invictus is preparing to drill the Musuma-1 well, which is scheduled to spud in November, according to the company’s statement on August 7. The well will target an independent prospect on the eastern basin margin with an unrisked gross mean prospective resource of 1.2 trillion cubic feet (34.0 bcm) of gas and 73 million barrels of condensate.

The company has secured Exalo Drilling Rig 202 through a deed of variation with Exalo Drilling S.A. Wellpad construction and other preparations are also under way. Invictus raised about $7mn in July to strengthen funding for the drilling programme and appraisal work.

In the meantime, Invictus is developing a pilot gas-to-power commercialisation project for the Mukuyu gas field. The project with Dallaglio Investments and Himoinsa Southern Africa is designed to generate 12 MW for the Eureka Gold Mine, with scope to expand to 50 MW as gas production and industrial demand increase, the AEC said.

Furthermore, Invictus is targeting broader gas monetisation for Cabora Bassa gas through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mbuyu Energy to explore gas supplies for power generation facilities linked to the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). According to the AEC, longer-term options include regional pipeline infrastructure and modular LNG production.

“Invictus Energy represents the type of African-led resource development that AEW is designed to showcase, where exploration success is being matched by commercial planning, government alignment and investment,” said NJ Ayuk, executive chairman of the AEC. “Its participation brings Zimbabwe’s emerging gas opportunity into direct conversation with investors, developers and energy companies from across the continent and beyond.”

AEW 2026 will take place in Cape Town, South Africa, from October 12-16.