Since its first wells more than ten years ago, Argentina’s Vaca Muerta has come a long way to become the most relevant shale play outside North America. Full development has become a reality and production from Vaca Muerta now represents 41% of Argentina’s oil production and 38% of natural gas (and growing!).

 

Over the last years, upstream operators and service companies have been working together to extend well lateral lengths, increase the number of fractures, accelerate drilling time, increase well productivity, reduce overall development costs and deliver profitable returns. All this is made possible by the geologic formation and rock quality of Vaca Muerta, widely considered to be at par with world-class plays such as Permian.