Key Highlights

  • Relocation of Exalo Rig 202 from the Mukuyu-2 wellsite to the Musuma-1 exploration well has commenced.
  • The move follows completion of the Musuma-1 wellpad, civil works and access road upgrades, and formal wellpad acceptance by Exalo Drilling S.A.
  • Rig-up, maintenance and operational readiness activities, followed by final rig acceptance, remain ahead of drilling.
  • Musuma-1 is scheduled to spud in November 2026.

Invictus Energy Ltd (ASX:IVZ) announced on 19 October 2026 that the relocation of Exalo Rig 202 from the Mukuyu-2 wellsite to the Musuma-1 exploration well location has commenced. The move is part of preparations for the upcoming drilling campaign at the Cabora Bassa Project in Zimbabwe.

Rig move and wellsite readiness

The rig move follows the recently announced completion of the Musuma-1 wellpad, including civil works and access road upgrades, and formal acceptance of the completed wellpad by drilling contractor Exalo Drilling S.A.

Once the move is finished, Exalo will carry out rig-up operations alongside remaining rig maintenance and operational readiness activities. These will be followed by final rig acceptance before drilling begins. The release included aerial images of the Musuma-1 wellsite and rig camp, along with the arrival of the first loads of the Rig 202 camp at the location.

Musuma-1 exploration target

Musuma-1 will test an exploration prospect on the Eastern Margin of the Cabora Bassa Basin, outside the existing Mukuyu Gas Field discovery area. Invictus said the well has the potential to establish an additional hydrocarbon accumulation within its acreage. The well is scheduled to spud in November 2026.

The company’s prospect map shows Musuma with gross, mean, unrisked prospective resources of 1,170 Bcf of gas and 73 million barrels of condensate. Nearby Eastern Basin prospects on the map include Mopane at 316 Bcf plus 20 million barrels, Mururo at 296 Bcf plus 19 million barrels, Aloe at 157 Bcf plus 10 million barrels, Sandalwood at 701 Bcf plus 44 million barrels and Copalwood at 109 Bcf plus 7 million barrels.

Wider Cabora Bassa portfolio

Invictus holds about 360,000 hectares in the Cabora Bassa Basin, where SG 4571 and EPOs 1848/49 contain the Mukuyu Gas Field and multiple basin margin prospects. The map notes that the Mukuyu-2 gas discovery in the Upper and Lower Angwa has further appraisal planned to quantify the resource. It also lists 12 central gas-condensate fairway prospects totalling 4.2 Tcf plus 264 million barrels of condensate, and five basin margin prospects totalling 1.1 billion barrels.

On the basin margin, the map lists Baobab at 243 million barrels, Acacia at 509 million barrels, Marula at 92 million barrels, Mukamba at 246 million barrels and Mimosa at 81 million barrels, with all estimates gross, mean and unrisked.

Resource estimate basis

The prospective resource estimates were prepared by the company as at 3 September 2024 under the Petroleum Resources Management System (2018) using probabilistic methods. They are unrisked and have not been adjusted for a chance of discovery or a chance of development, and the company said there is no certainty that the resources will be commercially viable to produce. Invictus confirmed that no material changes have been made to the estimates since the update of 3 September 2024.

About Invictus Energy

Invictus is an independent upstream oil and gas company listed on the ASX, with quotations on the OTCQB under IVCTF and the VFEX under INV. It is headquartered in Perth, Australia, and has offices in Harare, Zimbabwe. The company made a gas discovery at the Mukuyu field in the Cabora Bassa Basin in northern Zimbabwe, which it describes as one of the last untested large frontier rift basins in onshore Africa, and continues to develop its exploration program in the basin.