Exploration and Delineation of the Vaca Muerta Formation: Seven Years Sorting Out the Play

Abstract

In the last 7 years, Vaca Muerta Formation has moved from a World Class Source Rock, to the Argentinean source rock with the highest potential as a shale reservoir to finally a real shale gas/oil productive reservoir with some challenges to solve. YPF, partners and other operators have moved from Exploration phase, to pilots and delineation phases in core areas, resulting in the first shale gas/oil YPF operated development shale assets. This is the result of an intensive activity of drilling and completion of approximately 600 wells since 2010. Today's understanding has allowed companies to define most promising areas and marginal zones as well, resulting in current pilots activities in the different fluid windows. Industry has reached to a most integrated approach, still in process of improvement, which has allowed a better definition of exploration and delineation strategies. Two examples that must be emphasized are the Transecta Project as a first success attempt between companies to have a common understanding and integration of the Quintuco - Vaca Muerta stratigraphic framework, to better assess a reservoir characterization. The other example to consider is Loma Campana field, as the first unconventional producing cluster outside North America and a first operational lab for Vaca Muerta to be developed in a factory mode. Finally, the well performance, data acquisition, interpretation and integration have turned this shale from a play that looked promising in 2012, to an interesting performing shale reservoir where the main challenges are related with cost reduction, operational issues, development strategies, scaling factor, an industry-government-society commitment, and of course, oil and gas prices.

AAPG Datapages/Search and Discovery Article #90291 ©2017 AAPG Annual Convention and Exhibition, Houston, Texas, April 2-5, 2017