Australian oil company Invictus Energy announced this week the discovery of a hydrocarbon deposit in northern Zimbabwe, in the Cahora Bassa project, whose samples show the occurrence of oil, helium and "high quality" natural gas.

The discovery is the result of a re-evaluation of data from a survey carried out by the American company ExxonMobil in the 1990s, which later abandoned the project, located 240 kilometers north of the capital, Harare.

In 2018, Invictus Energy signed an agreement with Zimbabwe to share production with the government, at a time when the country is suffering massive power cuts lasting up to 19 hours a day, reports News to the Minute.

The discovery also follows the analysis of mud gas collected during the drilling of the Mukuyu-1 well at the end of 2022, which identified 13 hydrocarbon-bearing zones, reports Energy Capital Power.

"The results of the mud gas composition analysis definitively prove the presence of hydrocarbons in multiple reservoir zones in Mukuyu-1. The analysis shows the presence of light oil and rich condensate natural gas, with condensate gas ratios estimated at between 30 and 135 barrels per million cubic feet," said Invictus Energy's Managing Director, Scott Macmillan, in a statement.

"In addition, the presence of helium gas in commercial concentrations in several reservoir units is comparable to global helium producing fields and provides an additional high-value by-product. We are extremely pleased with the results of the mud gas analysis which confirm our geological modeling of the Cahora Bassa Basin and the presence of light oil and condensate gas gives us confidence as we prepare for the drilling of Mukuyu-2 in the third quarter of this year," he continued.

Mozambican daily Notícias reports that a Zimbabwean company, Shalom Mining, has submitted an application to the local government to prospect for oil and natural gas deposits in the Mana Pools National Park (North), a World Heritage Site. The area is still intact and borders Zambia.

A Zimbabwean environmentalist said that this exploration plan is far removed from the interests of Zimbabweans and was astonished to learn that the government is considering evaluating the request.

Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the 6,766-square-kilometer Mana Pools National Park is a conservation area with "a remarkable concentration of wildlife", including elephants, buffalo, leopards, cheetahs and Nile crocodiles, according to the United Nations.