Interpose Holdings Ltd (ASX:IHS) is a leading ASX gainer on its proposed acquisition of an 80% interest in a gas-condensate project in Zimbabwe.
Shares surged 97% intra-day to a new 12-month high of 5.7 cents on volume of more than 11 million.
Interpose has entered a binding sale and purchase agreement to acquire Australian incorporated company Invictus Energy Resources Pty Ltd.
Project contains Mzarabani prospect
This would result in Interpose securing an 80% interest and operatorship in the Cabora Bassa project, which contains the Mzarabani prospect.
It offers the company an opportunity to secure first-mover advantage and a dominant acreage position covering potentially the largest, seismically defined, undrilled hydrocarbon structure onshore Africa.
Extensive Mobil dataset
The project was defined by a robust dataset, including seismic data, developed after a US$30 million spend by Mobil in the early 1990s.
The project is in the Cabora Bassa Basin in Zimbabwe’s north.
As part of the proposed transaction, Interpose will appoint experienced oil and gas executive Scott Macmillan as managing director.
He is a Zimbabwean national and reservoir engineer with more than 12 years’ experience in oil and gas.
Macmillan said: “I found this project nearly a decade ago and was immediately attracted to its technical merits, given the considerable dataset that Mobil acquired and the fact that they had already identified a substantial conventional gas-condensate prospect in the basin.
“This data has never been seen in the public domain and Invictus has secured the most prospective area in the basin ahead of any competition.”
High-impact work program
Interpose plans to undertake a low-cost, high-impact work program to progress the project to farm-out or drill-ready stage.
This will include re-processing the legacy data acquired by Mobil, utilising the latest seismic processing techniques which have significantly improved since the data was acquired over 25 years ago.
Macmillan said: “We believe that we can apply new and evolved exploration concepts that have been successful in this type of rift basin setting in East Africa and Australia.
"A gas discovery in Zimbabwe will be a huge driver for the country’s economy and
Zimbabweans through multiple commercialisation options that are available.
Zimbabwe “open to business”
“The country is again open to business and foreign investment, with the new government implementing substantial reforms to encourage and promote investment in the country.”
Interpose has also secured commitments to raise up to $4.5 million, by way of a placement of 150 million fully paid shares at 3 cents per share.