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Golden Sibanda

Senior Business Reporter

Australia Stock Exchange (ASX) listed and Zimbabwe focused oil and gas exploration junior, Invictus Energy, has requested a suspension of trading in its shares ahead of an update this week relating to a capital raising programme.

Invictus Energy managing director Scott Macmillan, said in accordance with the requirements of Listing Rule 17,1, the company had requested a trading halt of the company’s securities.

“The company will be providing an update in relation to a capital raising.  The company is expecting to announce an update to the market on or prior to the commencement of trading on March 24, 2021,” Mr Macmillan said.

The company, whose main asset is the expansive oil and gas exploration prospect in the Cahora Bassa region, which encompasses the Muzarabani prospect, has not indicated how much it seeks to raise or how the funds will be spent. However, the company is on record saying it has spent about US$3,5 million on the Cahora Bassa/Muzarabni project and may require between US$16 million to $20 million to undertake drilling of test wells later this year.

Trading in the company’s shares will be suspended until tomorrow or when the information on the capital raise programme has been released to the market. Its stock lasted traded at 14 Australian cents a share on Friday last week.

“The securities of Invictus Energy Limited will be placed in trading halt at the request of IVZ (Invictus Energy Limited), pending releasing an announcement,” said Daniel Nicholson, ASX advisor listing and compliance (Perth).

Invictus’ share price jumped from AU$0,088 to  AU$0,145 per share on Wednesday, March 10, prompting regulatory authorities to ask the exploration firm to indicate if it was aware of information driving the frenzied interest and spike in the price.

The Cahora Bassa , which includes the Muzarabani Prospect, is according to the company potentially the largest undrilled seismically  defined structure onshore Africa. It has been a big year so far for the Australian listed firm’s share price, which has doubled since the beginning of 2021.

Just three trading days before the ASX closed for 2020, Invictus Energy announced it had received a non-binding farm-in offer to Geo Associates’, Invictus 80 percent shareholder, Cahora Bassa (Muzarabani) project.

Invictus has since undertaken detailed traversing and mapping across the area, identifying the optimal acquisition routes. In December last year, the company announced that a review of the Petroleum Exploration Development and Production Agreement (PEDPA) had been completed by the inter-ministerial committee of the Government of Zimbabwe and has been approved. 

The PEDPA provides the framework for progression of the Cahora Bassa Project through the exploration, appraisal, development and production phases and the obligations and rights of each party over the project lifecycle. It has also stated plans to carry out more testing at the end of the rainy season (October to April). The company has also announced plans to begin drilling on the Cahora Bassa/Muzarabani prospect in October this year.

Invictus Energy Limited  last year received a license from the environmental management authority, meaning that it can start working on the prospective site in Muzarabani. Further, the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency approved the extension of the firm’s investment licence by another three years, which will allow the company to progress its investigation for oil and gas.