Geo Associates has drilled just two wells across its 360,000-hectare Mzarabani licence, meaning the project’s true potential remains largely untapped, according to founder and managing director Paul Chimbodza.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
Speaking at the Chamber of Mines Annual Conference, Chimbodza said the company’s two wells – Mukuyu 1 and Mukuyu 2 – are located approximately seven kilometres apart, a tiny fraction of the exploration area.
“If you just suppose that with a licence area that is 360,000 hectares, what it says is we have barely scratched the surface,” Chimbodza said.
“The two wells, Mukuyu 1 and Mukuyu 2, seven kilometres apart, in a licence area as big as this room, we’ve just scratched the corner.”
The Mzarabani project is licensed under Geo Associates, with Invictus Energy – an Australian-listed company – holding 80 percent and One Gas Resources holding the remaining 20 percent. Chimbodza clarified the ownership structure to address what he described as “a lot of confusion in the marketplace.”
The initial licence area of 100,000 hectares has since been expanded to 360,000 hectares through collaboration with the Mutapa Investment Fund.
Chimbodza said the company has generated more than a dozen drill-ready targets across the licence area, giving Geo Associates an embarrassment of riches.
“In most exploration projects, the problem is to generate targets that you can follow up for drilling or targets that are worthy of drilling,” he said. “In our case, we are spoiled for choice on where to drill.”
He noted that Mobil had explored the area for about 10 years, leaving behind seismic data that Geo Associates has reinterpreted using modern computing power and software.
“I normally talk of, you know, if you had a scan done in 1980, and then you compare that with an MRI scan today, the resolution is so different,” Chimbodza said. “That’s all we did with the Mobil data. We subjected it to new techniques, new resolution, and we started picking up what Mobil couldn’t pick up then.”
The company subsequently conducted its own seismic survey to validate the findings.
Gas Market Now Exists Where None Did Before
Chimbodza noted that while Mobil had explored the area some 40 years ago, the project was never developed because there was no market for gas at the time.
“If you go back 40 years ago, the gas market was non-existent,” he said. “Even in our homes 40 years ago, no one was using cooking gas.”
“Fast forward to today, there is a huge market, not only in Zimbabwe but in the region.”
He said the project is well-positioned to supply gas-to-power projects, with every country in the region facing power shortages.
Chimbodza framed the resource in stark terms, measuring gas in trillion cubic feet.
“One TCF is big enough to power a 500-megawatt power station for 50 years,” he said.
With infrastructure already available in the region that can be retrofitted, the project could supply power to Zimbabwe’s energy-hungry economy and beyond.
Chimbodza explained that Geo Associates operates under a production-sharing agreement with the government, under which the company explores at its own risk.
“If you don’t find anything, tough luck, because that’s your business,” he said. “If you find something, we will allow you to recoup your costs, plus a small premium… What is left on the table, we then share with the Government of Zimbabwe.”
