Following the recent signing of the PEDPA with the government, Invictus, has awarded Polaris Natural Resources Inc, Canada’s longest standing seismic company to provide acquisition services for its first 2D seismic program in the Cabora Bassa Basin.
Polaris has conducted over 1,000 seismic projects since 1996 and introduced the first ‘low impact seismic crew’ into Africa in 2008. Polaris has conducted over 15 projects in East Africa and has been well accepted in all communities where they have operated.
Polaris will also deploy the world’s newest and smallest wireless recording nodes and receivers.
Bill Mooney, Polaris CEO said the combination of technologies being employed represent
not only the lightest seismic footprint possible, but also allows for very fast and high resolution data acquisition.
The company intends to conduct, process, and interpret a minimum of 400 line kms of 2D seismic in order to refine the Mzarabani-1 drilling location and well path and identify additional prospectivity for the upcoming drilling campaign.
The proposed seismic survey will be conducted with a minimal environmental footprint and
utilise existing roads and tracks wherever possible.
Invictus also announced that Barry Meikle will join the team as Seismic Project Manager. Meikle is based in Zimbabwe and has extensive experience in onshore seismic acquisition projects in PNG with Total and Interoil, and project management expertise with oil field service companies in East Africa.
Polaris will begin mobilising the seismic equipment and personnel to Harare in the coming weeks to undergo preparation for the acquisition before deploying to the field.
Invictus Managing Director Scott Macmillan commented: “Our exploration program is on track, and the significant amount of preparatory work that we have undertaken is paying off. We are using a very experienced contractor and have put in place a very experienced team to run the program. The seismic program will enable us to refine the Mzarabani-1 target defined from the existing seismic dataset and help us fill our prospect inventory ahead of our basin opening drilling campaign. .”