The Vaca Muerta Shale is an oil shale field located in West Argentina. Below are a few maps of the Vaca Muerta Shale Play.
Vaca Muerta Shale Map
Picture/Map Courtesy of- Initially, the focus was on conventional oil and gas in our eastern properties, particularly Medanito Sur where API had early drilling success. During 2010, several large companies began to show interest in the shale gas and shale oil potential of the western part of the Neuquen Basin where the two principal source rocks, the Vaca Muerta and the Los Molles shales are known to be widely distributed, have great thicknesses and are gas and oil charged. The large western blocks, operated by API, are aligned along a north south corridor which is emerging as the shale gas and shale oil fairway. In 2010, large concession blocks were made available by the provincial governments and several large oil companies, including Exxon Mobil, Apache, Total, EOG, Repsol YPF and Chevron acquired very large blocks offsetting API's acreage. In addition, Apache, one of the more experienced international shale gas players, farmed into one of API's largest blocks (Huacalera) to drill into the Vaca Muerta shale. In August 2011, the company announced awith Exxon Mobil on the Los Toldos blocks, with the primary focus being the Vaca Muerta Shale.
We believe Argentina's Neuquen basin could be the next key shale gas and shale oil country after the United States and Canada. With proven gas in widely distributed and extremely thick shales this forecast is nearing reality.
