OIL and gas exploration firm Invictus Energy, which recently made a gas discovery in Zimbabwe, says multiple prospects have been identified in the Dande Formation with seismic amplitude characteristics suggesting reservoired hydrocarbons.
In general, this seismic “amplitude support” (for the presence of hydrocarbons), the company said, is favoured by better reservoir porosities, lighter hydrocarbons (gas) and shallower reservoir depths.
The presence of consistent amplitude anomalies across different seismic and processing vintages adds confidence to their interpretation and, by inference, the presence of genuine hydrocarbon-related amplitude anomalies significantly increases the chance of a valid gas trap.
The reservoir rock, according to experts, is the porous, permeable rock layer that hold the oil and gas.
This increases the firm’s chances of discovering more gas or oil in the Dande Formation.
The firm recently revealed that preliminary compositional analysis confirmed high quality natural gas containing minimal impurities, which will require minimal processing to prepare for sale to downstream customers.
The energy company declared two material discoveries after recovering 15 downhole gas and gas-condensate samples from both the Upper and Lower Angwa Formation targets in the Mukuyu-2/ST-1 well during its December drilling campaign.
The dual discoveries confirmed the potential of the Mukuyu gas field and defined a new petroleum province in the Cabora Bassa basin, where the company holds a dominant acreage position of 360 000ha in proximity to a high-demand energy market with established delivery infrastructure.
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“Newly-mapped amplitude-supported prospects in the Dande Formation that have been revealed through the CB23 Seismic Survey we acquired last year are very exciting,” Invictus Energy managing director Scott Macmillan said in a shareholder update.
“The fact that we see the seismic amplitude response across the Musuma, Mopane and Mururo prospects in the south-east of our exploration licence area is extremely encouraging and could ultimately be part of a single, large hydrocarbon accumulation.”
Macmillan said the Dande Formation targets are relatively shallow and can be tested with a simple low-cost vertical well.
He further indicated that the company continues to evaluate the CB23 survey data and these “exciting new prospects alongside others” in the portfolio, including the untested Basin Margin play, to mature them to drill-ready for an upcoming exploration drilling campaign.
