f Vaca Muerta - Stratigraphic Similitude to U.S. Shale

The Vaca Muerta shale in Argentina’s Neuquén Basin is at the forefront of shale plays being developed outside of North America. Production from the play has increased 600% over the past 5 years, a result of ramping investment from not only YPF and supermajors, but also small- to mid-cap and private operators. While single-well results are highly competitive with North American shale plays, the Vaca Muerta has struggled to achieve the same scale of activity seen in the U.S., partly reflecting economic and political headwinds. To propel themselves against these headwinds, Vaca Muerta operators look to improve well performance and economics by leveraging optimized completion design insights from North American shale plays.

We analyzed multidisciplinary datasets from all major North American shale plays and the Vaca Muerta. To perform subtle and objective geologic comparisons between the Argentine and North American plays, we performed electrofacies and clustering analyses using principal component analysis (PCA) with geologic features such as depth, gamma ray, resistivity, neutron porosity, bulk density, photoelectric factor and sonic. Using this to identify geologic analogues to the Vaca Muerta, we then investigated completion and production trends in comparable North American rock types. The analysis allows us to draw parallels between the shale plays that will drive insights into optimal completion technologies and methodologies in the continued development of the Argentine play.