Invictus Energy Ltd. started drilling the Mukuyu-2 well to prove up a material discovery in license SG 4571, Cabora Bassa basin, Zimbabwe.
The well spudded Sept. 20 and will be drilled to a planned total depth of 3,750 m. Mukuyu-2 will test the primary target interval, the Triassic Upper Angwa formation, sitting about 450 m updip from Mukuyu-1 where hydrocarbons were intersected (OGJ Online July 14, 2023).
The well will also penetrate multiple additional targets including the Dande (Jurassic Cretaceous), Forest, and Pebbly Arkose (both Triassic) formations, as well as the previously untested Lower Angwa sequence within the Mukuyu anticline in the central horst structure.
Drilling and evaluation of the well is expected to take 50-60 days.
Cabora Bassa basin lies onshore in the Zambezi Valley in Muzarabani, 300 km northeast of Harare. The 250,000-acre SG 4571 license is in the second exploration period which runs to June 2024. Prospective resources are 20 tcf of gas and 845 million bbl of condensate (OGJ Online, June 26, 2023).
Invictus is operator with 80% interest.
Alex Procyk | Upstream Editor
Alex Procyk is Upstream Editor at Oil & Gas Journal. He has also served as a principal technical professional at Halliburton and as a completion engineer at ConocoPhillips. He holds a BS in chemistry (1987) from Kent State University and a PhD in chemistry (1992) from Carnegie Mellon University. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).