Australian Firm Finds Oil, Gas in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Thursday that Australia's Invictus Energy had found oil and gas deposits in the northern Muzarabani area of the country.

Invictus Energy has agreed to enter a production sharing arrangement with Zimbabwe once the project reaches commercial production, Mnangagwa said.

"Government of Zimbabwe will work very closely with Invictus to ensure that Invictus realises its plans to sink an exploration well by mid 2020," Mnangagwa told reporters.

Mines Minister Winston Chitando said the well would be sunk at a cost of $20 million.

Mobil Oil was the first company to undertake oil and gas studies in Muzarabani in the early 1990s but abandoned the work. Invictus is using the data first generated by Mobil.

Australian-listed Invictus is an independent oil and gas exploration company whose only asset is in Zimbabwe, according to information on its website.

(Reuters, Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Writing by Joe Brock)