The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) has granted Australian energy firm, Invictus Energy Limited (IEL) an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) compliance for its Cabora Bassa Project in Zimbabwe.
In a statement on Monday, IEL said EMA had granted Geo Associates (Private) Limited, IEL’s 80% owned subsidiary and holder of Special Grant 4571 for the exploration of oil and gas, permission to operate. It said:
The approval of the environmental management plan concludes the permitting requirements and enables the company to commence and undertake activities in the field, including seismic acquisition and exploration drilling.
The EIA study was conducted by independent environmental consultants, the Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Centre (SIRDC).
The full EIA assessment included field surveys and baseline measurements of hydrology, ecology, environmental, archaeological, hydrogeological, soil surveys and socioeconomic and community consultations of the key project stakeholders, local leaders, relevant government ministries and government extension offices.
The Cabora Bassa project encompasses the Muzarabani Prospect believed to have multi-trillion cubic feet worth of liquids and rich in conventional gas-condensate.
In 2018, the firm released a report stating that the Muzarabani Prospect has high potential to produce 3,9 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas and 181 million barrels of conventional gas.