Key Highlights

  • Invictus Energy (ASX:IVZ) shares trade at approximately AUD 0.06, as the company progresses toward drilling its Musuma-1 exploration well.
  • The company executed a Deed of Variation with Exalo Drilling S.A. for Exalo Rig 202, confirming a November 2026 spud date for Musuma-1.
  • Wellpad construction is scheduled to begin following completion of customary cultural ceremonies with traditional leaders and local communities.
  • Musuma-1 is targeting a gross mean unrisked prospective resource of 1.2 trillion cubic feet of gas and 73 million barrels of condensate.

Invictus Energy Limited (ASX:IVZ) announced that it has executed a Deed of Variation to its drilling contract with Exalo Drilling S.A., confirming a November 2026 spud date for the Musuma-1 exploration well at its Cabora Bassa Project in Zimbabwe.

Rig Contract and Spud Date

Invictus said the Deed of Variation secures Exalo Rig 202 for the Musuma-1 campaign and formalises the revised scope of work and drilling schedule. With the rig contract executed, rig preparation scope agreed, and mobilisation windows for key well services secured, the company confirmed Musuma-1 is scheduled to spud in November 2026.

Managing Director Scott Macmillan said the company is pleased to confirm the November spud date following execution of the Deed of Variation and the start of the rig's maintenance and readiness campaign, adding that wellpad construction was scheduled to begin the following week and that evaluation of well services provision was complete, with award of the remaining scopes targeted in the coming weeks.

Rig Readiness and Well Services

Exalo is preparing to undertake a rig maintenance and operational readiness campaign ahead of mobilising the rig from the Mukuyu location to the Musuma-1 wellsite, working closely with the Invictus and Geo Associates drilling teams throughout the preparation and subsequent mobilisation. Invictus said procurement of the remaining well services required for the campaign is well advanced, with commercial and technical evaluations completed and contracts being prepared for award, to be followed by equipment inspection, preparation and mobilisation.

Construction of the Musuma-1 wellpad and associated civil works, including site infrastructure and upgrades to the road network required to mobilise the rig and well services, is scheduled to commence following completion of customary cultural ceremonies and protocols with local leaders and host communities.

Prospectivity of Musuma-1

Invictus said Musuma-1 is targeting an estimated gross mean unrisked prospective resource of 1.2 trillion cubic feet of gas and 73 million barrels of condensate, describing it as one of the most significant undrilled conventional exploration opportunities in the Cabora Bassa Basin. The well will be the first high-impact exploration well drilled outside the existing Mukuyu gas-condensate discovery area, targeting a new play type informed by the company's CB23 seismic survey.

The company noted that these prospective resource estimates are unrisked and have not been adjusted for the associated chance of discovery or chance of development, and that further exploration, appraisal and evaluation will be required to determine whether a significant quantity of potentially recoverable Hydrocarbons exists.

Conclusion

The executed Deed of Variation with Exalo Drilling gives Invictus Energy a confirmed rig and drilling schedule for the Musuma-1 exploration well, moving the project into its execution phase ahead of a targeted November 2026 spud. The well represents the company's first high-impact test outside the Mukuyu discovery area, with a prospective resource estimate that remains unrisked pending further exploration and evaluation of both discovery and development potential.