Zimbabwe sitting on 40 trillion cubic feet of gas in Lupane

Zimbabwe holds vast reserves of untapped methane gas in the Lubimbi area of Lupane, Matabeleland North province, but has struggled for years to secure an investor to begin exploiting this valuable resource. 
Opposition legislator Thokozani Khupe raised the issue in Parliament on Tuesday, highlighting the potential of the methane gas in Lupane to generate around 6,000 megawatts of electricity-more than enough to meet the country's needs, with excess capacity that could be exported to other Southern African Development Community (SADC) nations.
Zimbabwe has faced persistent power shortages for over a decade, exacerbated by low water levels at Kariba Dam, which is responsible for much of the country's electricity generation. Khupe emphasized that the methane gas, if developed, could alleviate these shortages and provide a reliable energy source.

"The Lupane-Lubimbi methane gas project has been in discussion for a long time, having been granted national project status in 2007. Yet, 17 years later, we have seen no action beyond talk. It's time for the government to move from ‘talk only' to real action," Khupe said.

She noted that despite multiple ribbon-cutting ceremonies over the years, the project remains stagnant, even though the resource has the potential to create thousands of jobs and generate billions of dollars in revenue. Khupe pointed out that this aligns with Zimbabwe's National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), which aims to create 760,000 jobs within five years.

Research suggests that Zimbabwe's gas reserves, estimated at over 40 trillion cubic feet, are larger than those of neighboring countries. The methane gas alone could generate 6,000 megawatts of electricity, double the country's daily energy requirement of 3,000 megawatts.

Khupe urged the government to prioritize finding a major investor through a Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) arrangement. "An investor could inject $20 billion into Zimbabwe's coffers, extract the gas for 25 years, and then transfer the project to Zimbabwe. This would not only generate significant resources for the country's development but also ensure sufficient energy for industrial and other sectors," she added.

During a parliamentary Question-and-Answer session, Khupe questioned the progress of the project, to which Energy Minister Edgar Moyo responded that the government had yet to secure an investor. "We are working on finding an investor to launch the project," Moyo said.

As Zimbabwe continues to grapple with power shortages, Moyo added that the government is now focusing on renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. This comes after the African Development Bank (AfDB) recently urged SADC leadership to prioritize a single, region-wide project during the SADC Industrialisation Week, to benefit the entire region.