A number of interesting articles have come out recently from the Zimbabwe Herald regarding IVZ – it is important to keep in mind that the Herald is a state-owned newspaper, and is considered the government’s mouthpiece to disseminate government policy, and stories are often driven by the Information Ministry (https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1DL1F3/)
PPSA
Other than reporting on the discoveries and their importance to the country, the Herald in March reported that the PPSA was close to finalisation (https://www.herald.co.zw/govt-set-to-get-share-of-oil-gas-depositsv/). While the article quotes IVZ, I find it unlikely the Herald would issue the article if the PPSA was not close to finalisation as they get most of their information about public policy and decision-making from the government.
Development
More interestingly, there have been Editorials in the last few month which may be telegraphing the future government’s plans.
In December 2023, a Herald Editorial stated that development must “move fast” and “start planning now for a new energy future, adding gas-powered generating stations” and “start working out how to build a chemical industry”. It also states that “Detailed planning for a power station can actually start soon” and “decisions need to be made onwhere to site the power station, and sohow long the pipeline needs to be. The…national power grid, those huge 330kv lines, need to be extended to the power station site along with the super-sized junction needs to be connected to the power station”. In relation to fertilizer production; “it still needs to be calculated whether it is cheaper to build a pipeline to Kwekwe [where the Sable fertilizer power plant currently is – IVZ entered into an MOU with Sable in 2019], or build a new ammonia and fertilizer factory nhttps://www.herald.co.zw/editorial-comment-gas-strike-opens-doors-we-must-move-fast/ear the well-head and truck out the fertilizer. That must be done now”. ()
In March, another Editorial reiterated these points, and regarding fertilizer production; “Here the Muzarabani gas strike makes local production a possibility again, and this needs to be explored with all the decisions made while the commercial drilling and exploitation of the natural gas is being arranged.” But it also went further and is proposing a establishing an industrial centre, potentially a new city, to be created close to the Muzarabani gas field; “Sable has expressed interest in a pipeline to Kwekwe, but we feel all possibilities should be examined. The natural gas strike will almost certainly be fuelling a power station, and we assume liquid petroleum gases and even helium will be extracted from the gas.All this will require a gas-based industrial centre a lot closer to the gas field, perhaps Bindura, perhaps Murehwa, perhaps a brand new town or city.That town is likely to become the centre of Zimbabwe’s chemical industryas the gas and condensate strike builds up supplies of raw materials.So with that nascent chemical city,it could well be cheaper to move the ammonium nitrate plant to that new city than bring the gas to Kwekwe.” (https://www.herald.co.zw/editorial-comment-new-fertiliser-factory-most-welcome/)
Just yesterday, another Editorial was issued regarding fertilizer, which mentions the Muzarabani strike for fertilizer production, and pushing for a Presidential-level summit on fertilizer, and states that “While fertilizer raw materials can be imported from other continents, and at the moment are imported, Africa needs to work towards self-sufficiency”.(https://www.herald.co.zw/editorial-comment-africas-fertiliser-shortages-require-continental-solutions/)
Now, maybe, Editors at the Herald are just sitting around discussing how proposing a Presidential summit on fertilizer is a great idea, and debating the merits of the expansion of 330kv power lines versus the building of a pipeline – or maybe the state-owned newspaper which serves as the mouthpiece of the government is printing what the Information Ministry is telling them. And if it’s the latter, then it would not be a surprise if the President comes out with an initiative to redevelop an existing city or develop a new city near Muzarabani to act as a chemical manufacturing cente (similar to the Cyber City initiative which Zimbabwe is building). And it also would be not be a surprise if there is an announcement of a planned gas pipeline. The National Oil Infrastructure Company of Zim (NOIC) is currently upgrading the Feruka-Msasa gas pipeline – NOIC is one of the 20 parastatal entities which were recently placed under control of the Mutapa Zim sovereign wealth fund – which owns a 10% back-in interest to IVZ’s revenues. (https://www.zbcnews.co.zw/featured/feruka-pipeline-project-nears-completion/)
