The technology that led YPF to a historic record in Vaca Muerta

In a milestone for the Argentine energy industry, YPF has managed to drill the longest horizontal well in the history of Vaca Muerta. It has a total length of 8,376 meters and a lateral branch of 5,114 metres. This unprecedented technical and operational advance was made possible by the implementation of the NeoSteer Max system, developed by SLB (formerly Schlumberger), which optimized drilling in highly demanding conditions.
NeoSteer Max is an at-bit steerable (ABSS) directional system that integrates steering capability into the drill bit shoe. Unlike a conventional Rotary Steerable System by which the directional control is located behind the drill bit and often requires BHA (Bottom Hole Assembly) changes between sections; this technology allows vertical, curved and lateral sections to be drilled in a single run.

The result is: higher rate of penetration (ROP), less non-productive time (NPT) and reduced emissions due to fewer operating hours.
In the case of Vaca Muerta this system provided key advantages:

• Longer and straighter laterals, maximising contact with the reservoir’s ”sweet spot” (the rock interval with the highest concentration of hydrocarbons, best porosity , permeability and mechanical conditions for fracturing).

• Cleaner curves and less tortuosity, facilitating the settling of plugs and the passage of wireline equipment during fracturing.

• Fewer drilling trips, which means lower costs, shorter well times and a smaller carbon footprint

• Precise geosteering thanks to real-time telemetry, which allowed to keep drilling within the most productive layers of the formation.

Geosteering is a technique that combines geological, geophysical, petrophysical and drilling data, and was fundamental to this achievement. Vaca Muerta, which is more than 400 metres thick, does not have the same quality in all its layers. Keeping the drilling in the richest core of the shale is crucial to optimising the fracturing stages and future production.

SLB company stated that this implementation in Argentina has resulted in record lateral drilling and shorter operating times compared to offset wells, accelerating the start of fracturing and reducing the cost per well.

The collaboration between the YPF team and SLB’s Well Construction team has pushed the technology to its limits and has set a precedent for the future development of Vaca Muerta.

This advance propels Argentina into a strategic position in the global energy market, with the potential to meet and exceed the most ambitious production goals in the coming years.