MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina with 'Vaca Muerta' won the 'geological lottery': 305 meters-thick shale oil and gas

Chevron Kent Robertson has only words of praise for the development prospects of Vaca Muerta

Argentina has won the “geological lottery” with its 305 meters-thick Vaca Muerta shale oil and gas field in Patagonia, a spokesman for Chevron said on Thursday, as the U.S. energy giant increases its investments in the country. The company and state-owned oil firm YPF announced plans last month to invest an additional 1.6 billion to develop Vaca Muerta.

 “The shale play in Argentina is unique because of the rock. Its thickness. Argentina has kind of won the geological lottery” Chevron spokesman Kent Robertson was quoted in Buenos Aires.

Shale formations often resemble layer cakes, with shale squeezed between layers of unproductive rock. “But Vaca Muerta is like one big cake, 305 meters thick in places, which means one well can be much more productive,” Robertson said.

Some studies indicate Argentina is sitting atop a shale bounty that could transform the outlook for the Western Hemisphere's supply and secure the country's energy self-sufficiency for decades.

“What we've seen with YPF has been positive so far. Their per-well costs are coming down,” Robertson added. “And the provincial governments in the area of Vaca Muerta understand oil development. They support it. So that's one less barrier.”

Many communities object to hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, by which water, sand and chemicals are injected deep into shale fields to unlock hydrocarbons.

“One of the unique things about Vaca Muerta from an international perspective is that it is in an area where you've already got oil industry activity,” Robertson said.

“There is already an established oil industry in the region where the shale is. You've got service companies, you've got pipelines and infrastructure,” he added. “You've got existing assets that do not need to be recreated. Plus you've also got a head start in that you have knowledge of the rocks.”