The Zambezi Delta Basin: A Complex Puzzle with Missing Pieces

Exploration on the African continent has traditionally been concentrated in prolific basins on the Sub-Saharan Western margin, in detriment to the East. Proven prolific basins, existing infrastructure, favourable and progressively transparent regulation; along with the analysis of prospective conjugate basins of Brazil are just some of the reasons for creating a positive environment for international investors. A report submitted in 2012 by the USGS, predicts undiscovered mean gas resources of more than 370 TCFG in offshore East Africa, including Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar and Seychelles. World-class gas discoveries have been made between 2010 and 2013 in the offshore regions of Tanzania and Mozambique, along with onshore discoveries in Uganda and Kenya thus reinvigorating exploration interest along the Eastern African margin. The Zambezi channel, offshore Mozambique, has traditionally been the locus of intense academic research, with a number of 2D seismic and gravimetric and magnetic acquisition campaigns deployed in recent years. However, the region still remains poorly understood. With this in mind, in 2017 CGG acquired a high-resolution 3D seismic survey located in the outer Zambezi Delta Basin, west of the Beira High. This seismic survey, in conjunction with newly acquired high-resolution shipborne grav/mag survey and access to data from multiple wells in the area, aims to bring a new and fresh dimension on the geological understanding of the basin.