News / National
Zimbabwe exploring for oil and gas in Zambezi valley - Mpofu
27 Dec 2011 at 08:59hrs | Views
GOVERNMENT in partnership with a foreign oil giant is exploring for oil and gas reserves along the Zambezi Valley, a development that might see the country laying claim to having the richest deposits of various natural resources, the Minister of Mines and Mining Development, Dr Obert Mpofu, has said.
In an interview just after the Zimbabwe Prison Service 143rd pass-out parade at Ntabazinduna Prison Training School last Wednesday, Dr Mpofu revealed that Zimbabwe forged a deal with a foreign partner, but was not at liberty to name it, to explore and tap the massive oil reserves that are believed to be in the valley.
"There has been a lot of exploration along the Zambezi Valley for oil. We have another option to extract oil from coal but we will only consider that when all other avenues have been exhausted. Indications point out that there is oil along the valley and we are ruthlessly looking into that," said Dr Mpofu.
Though Dr Mpofu did not reveal, a reliable source in the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development said the exploration was still at the initial stage that involves the study of the structural geology at the reservoir scale, sedimentary basin analysis and reservoir characterisation.
Dr Mpofu said the exploration and expected discovery of oil in Matabeleland North was likely not to end up a pipe dream as the region is characterised by extreme temperatures that lead to the formation of petroleum.
He said: "Major oil discoveries are now common in Africa's hot regions. Our region is hot and because of that uranium and methane gas were discovered. Now usually where there is gas there is oil and our hot weather conditions point to that possibility."
Oil is commonly formed in rock or in sealed pockets under the seabed and it is from the Latin for "rock oil" that the word "petroleum" is derived, though this umbrella term also covers natural gas as well as oil.
What is commonly referred to as oil is properly known as mineral oil or crude oil and is formed from plant and animal matter that has broken down and been subjected to extreme temperatures and pressure over millions of years.
Dr Mpofu said the government was not exploring for oil only but other minerals as it had learned a lesson from the discovery of diamonds that there are other minerals that are waiting to be discovered.
"We are exploring for everything, we strongly believe that there are other minerals we have not discovered yet. The mistakes we made with diamonds which were being smuggled under our noses by De Beers must not happen again. Our country is blessed with abundant natural resources and if we exploit them we will not beg to anyone again," said Dr Mpofu.
The Zanu-PF Member of Parliament for Umguza constituency also let slip that the government was setting up an exploration organ to spearhead the search for undiscovered minerals.
Dr Mpofu said: "We do not want this exploration to be seen as a preserve for the public sector, it should be a partnership between public and private sectors. So we are encouraging private participation and we hope when we are set with all things in place the exploration of other minerals will give us a picture of the vast mineral riches we have."
The drilling of oil would see the world which is already green with envy after the discovery of diamonds in Marange becoming greener. Oil would see Zimbabwe reducing the quantity of fuel and other oil products that it imports thereby saving millions of dollars that are lost acquiring the same products.
If the exploitation begins, it will be a historic economic move but it will only be a small part of the country's immeasurable mineral wealth. According to the Zimbabwe Investment Authority, Zimbabwe has 16,5 million tons of diamond deposits, 2,8 billion tons of platinum, 26 billion tons of coal and 30 billion tons of iron ore and 13 million tons of gold deposits. Moreover, Zimbabwe boasts copper resources of 5,2 million tons, 4,5 million tons of nickel, 930 million tons of chromite, and the largest reserves of methane gas in Africa.
In an interview just after the Zimbabwe Prison Service 143rd pass-out parade at Ntabazinduna Prison Training School last Wednesday, Dr Mpofu revealed that Zimbabwe forged a deal with a foreign partner, but was not at liberty to name it, to explore and tap the massive oil reserves that are believed to be in the valley.
"There has been a lot of exploration along the Zambezi Valley for oil. We have another option to extract oil from coal but we will only consider that when all other avenues have been exhausted. Indications point out that there is oil along the valley and we are ruthlessly looking into that," said Dr Mpofu.
Though Dr Mpofu did not reveal, a reliable source in the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development said the exploration was still at the initial stage that involves the study of the structural geology at the reservoir scale, sedimentary basin analysis and reservoir characterisation.
Dr Mpofu said the exploration and expected discovery of oil in Matabeleland North was likely not to end up a pipe dream as the region is characterised by extreme temperatures that lead to the formation of petroleum.
He said: "Major oil discoveries are now common in Africa's hot regions. Our region is hot and because of that uranium and methane gas were discovered. Now usually where there is gas there is oil and our hot weather conditions point to that possibility."
Oil is commonly formed in rock or in sealed pockets under the seabed and it is from the Latin for "rock oil" that the word "petroleum" is derived, though this umbrella term also covers natural gas as well as oil.
Dr Mpofu said the government was not exploring for oil only but other minerals as it had learned a lesson from the discovery of diamonds that there are other minerals that are waiting to be discovered.
"We are exploring for everything, we strongly believe that there are other minerals we have not discovered yet. The mistakes we made with diamonds which were being smuggled under our noses by De Beers must not happen again. Our country is blessed with abundant natural resources and if we exploit them we will not beg to anyone again," said Dr Mpofu.
The Zanu-PF Member of Parliament for Umguza constituency also let slip that the government was setting up an exploration organ to spearhead the search for undiscovered minerals.
Dr Mpofu said: "We do not want this exploration to be seen as a preserve for the public sector, it should be a partnership between public and private sectors. So we are encouraging private participation and we hope when we are set with all things in place the exploration of other minerals will give us a picture of the vast mineral riches we have."
The drilling of oil would see the world which is already green with envy after the discovery of diamonds in Marange becoming greener. Oil would see Zimbabwe reducing the quantity of fuel and other oil products that it imports thereby saving millions of dollars that are lost acquiring the same products.
If the exploitation begins, it will be a historic economic move but it will only be a small part of the country's immeasurable mineral wealth. According to the Zimbabwe Investment Authority, Zimbabwe has 16,5 million tons of diamond deposits, 2,8 billion tons of platinum, 26 billion tons of coal and 30 billion tons of iron ore and 13 million tons of gold deposits. Moreover, Zimbabwe boasts copper resources of 5,2 million tons, 4,5 million tons of nickel, 930 million tons of chromite, and the largest reserves of methane gas in Africa.
Source - TC
