Story by Tichaona Kurewa
THE Government has expressed satisfaction with the progress made in the implementation of the Muzarabani Oil and Gas project.
In an effort to ensure Zimbabwe fully benefits from abundant natural resources, officials from the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development recently completed a capacity-building training programme focused on structuring, negotiating, and managing contracts in the mining and petroleum sectors.
The Muzarabani Oil and Gas project is entering the production stage and profit-sharing agreement negotiations and the government is relying on the newly acquired expertise to secure a mutually beneficial deal.
“We are now at the stage where we are negotiating with contractors to establish what is known as a Production and Profit Sharing Agreement (PPSA). Once this agreement is finalised, the contractor will be granted the right to exploit oil and gas resources in Zimbabwe. We are targeting the completion of these negotiations by the end of the second quarter, which is set to conclude by August. Once the PPSA is signed, the project’s timeline will largely depend on the contractor,” the Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Responsible for Oil and Gas, Honourable, Engineer Caleb Makwiranzou said.
Mining operations in Muzarabani are expected to begin early next year.
Exploration conducted by Geo-Associates in collaboration with Invictus Energy has confirmed the presence of Oil and Gas in the Muzarabani basin.
