Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono has warned the country might lose out on its rich coal-bed methane gas reserves in Lupane as Botswana has already started tapping into the shared resource.
Speaking to captains of industries in Bulawayo last week during a Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries meeting, Gono accused government of delaying exploitation of the gas.
“According to the United States, we have the largest reserves of methane gas in sub-Saharan Africa here in Lupane.
“But we are not exploiting it and it is now flowing to Botswana which is exploiting it,” he said without elaborating.
Last October, Energy and Power Development deputy minister Hubert Nyanhongo also hinted that the gas was escaping through holes drilled by an unnamed French firm, which abandoned exploration five years ago.
“Five years ago, a French exploration firm was given rights to drill holes in Lupane,” Nyanhongo was quoted then.
“But it just abandoned the site and left countless holes through which the gas is now escaping. We only learnt of it recently.”
Industry experts say the Hwange area holds vast deposits of coal-bed methane gas — some of it estimated to be 95% pure methane — hidden between Hwange and neighbouring Botswana.
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In 2007, government singled out the gas project as a priority, but to date no developments have been undertaken at the site.