http://www.zimbabwesituation.com/may17a_2007.html#Z11
Zanu heavies squabble over oil
The Zimbabwean
CHINHOYI
The cash-strapped Zimbabwe government claims it has made a landmark oil
discovery in Chinhoyi, a resort town in the north of the country, amid
reports the find has provoked new tensions between central government and
the provincial leadership.
President Robert Mugabe's government claims it has found more than 1 million
barrels of oil after testing a well drilled at Maningwe, a farm located a
stone's throw from Chinhoyi Caves, which was grabbed from a white farmer at
the height of the land grab.
The well flowed at 50 barrels a day, providing rea**urance that the
oil-bearing rocks that contain the ma**ive oilfield extend into Zimbabwe.
The discovery, which will become the first oil field in Zimbabwe if
confirmed by fuel experts, gives a big boost to the economic prospects of
the crisis-torn country and has also raised the political stakes over who
controls the valuable energy resource.
Fears that oil ambitions could ignite political conflict between the
Minister of Energy, Mike Nyambuya, and Nelson Samkange, governor of
Mashonaland West - the province in which Chinhoyi falls - were aroused last
month when Nyambuya reportedly declared that all oil exploration and
research should be handled by the Energy Ministry in Harare and the
Geological Survey department.
His a**ertion appeared to conflict with Samkange's grant of licences of
exploration and research to the Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT).
Although officials at the CUT were tight-lipped when The Zimbabwean visited
the campus last Friday, sources in the Faculty of Fuels and Energy confirmed
that the university had run a series of tests on samples of oil from the
site.
"Initial tests indicate the presence of large quantities of light and high
quality oil and huge quantities of a**ociated gas," said our source. A
visit to the site, eight kilometres from Chinhoyi along Kariba Road,
revealed that the place had been cordoned off by gun-toting state security
personnel.
A Zimbabwe flag has been hoisted at the site. The Zimbabwean was unable to
verify reports that the Maningwe mole, located in a rugged terrain, was
oozing with oil. A svikiro (spirit medium) at the site denied our news crew
access, claiming there were rituals which had to be carried out before the
site was opened to the public. Authoritative sources said there was a
dog-fight between central government and the provincial leadership over the
oil find amid reports both Samkange and Nyambuya were keen to benefit
financially from the grant of licences to foreign firms clandestinely
enquiring about acquiring exploration rights over the territory.
Sources closely following the oil deal said there was an Iranian investor
who had enquired about signing a production-sharing agreement with the
provincial leadership. The investment reportedly involves sums ranging
around US$4,5 million. Nyambuya was unavailable for comment, while Sanmkange
did not return several calls to his office.
Legal experts said Zimbabwe's constitution was ambiguous as to which
jurisdiction has the ultimate authority over mineral rights. It envisages
that both central and provincial governments have the right to cut deals
with private companies but stipulates that the revenues from taxation should
be distributed fairly. - Chief Reporter
Maybe Bush might find interest in Zimbabwe after all.
"Yes, Zimbabwe does have weapons of ma** destruction even Moo-net-C sings about it" - George Bush
