Schlumberger enters the Vaca Muerta play
Argentina 
HOUSTON, April 13, 2017 – Schlumberger announced on Wednesday that it had signed an agreement with Argentina’s state-owned YPF to kick off a shale oil pilot project in Vaca Muerta’s Bandurria Sur Block.
The oilfield services giant will invest USD 390 million in the project, including the value of its own services. The development plan for the block calls for the drilling of 26 pilot wells and the construction of supporting infrastructure there.
YPF will retain a controlling 51% stake in the project and operatorship; Schlumberger will acquire the remaining 49%.
“We are very pleased with the opportunity of working more closely with YPF,” Schlumberger President of Operations Patrick Schorn said in a statement, as he signed the agreement together with YPF’s Chairman Miguel Angel Gutierrez.
“By leveraging our reservoir knowledge and track record in unconventional completions, we expect to create operational efficiencies and further reduce development costs in the world-class Vaca Muerta play.”
In recent weeks the Vaca Muerte play has attracted increased interest from international oil majors, in another positive sign for Argentine President Mauricio Macri’s campaign to attract foreign investment.
In March, Tecpetrol announced that it would invest some USD 2.3 billion in the formation, while Shell, Total Austral, Pan American Energy and Wintershall Energia have also announced different plans for unconventional projects in Vaca Muerta.
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