DLS Archer, an Argentine drilling services company active in Vaca Muerta — the world-class shale formation in Argentina's Neuquén Basin — has begun shipping the first of two drilling rigs from its base in Houston to support YPF's drilling campaign in the formation. The logistics operation is part of a defined deployment schedule for the company, which has prepared the imported equipment to come online in Neuquén province.
The DLS-175 rig is expected to arrive in Neuquén in late May, with the DLS-176 following in late June or July, Shale24 has learned. Workers at the Houston base are currently reconditioning the units to adapt their Texas-tuned subsurface configurations to Neuquén Basin conditions.
For DLS Archer, deploying U.S.-based rigs into the cradle of the local shale services industry is a milestone. Beyond the contract with YPF, Argentina's state-controlled oil and gas company, the company sees the move as a growth bet aimed at consolidating its position as one of Vaca Muerta's principal drilling services providers. The company currently operates eight rigs in Neuquén province; once the transfer is complete, the local fleet will reach 10.
For YPF, the two new rigs feed several active and expanding projects. The shale oil core areas — Loma Campana, Bandurria Sur, and La Amarga Chica — remain the historical anchor, but newer blocks are advancing as well, including La Angostura Sur, where output has reached 47,000 bbl/d and where production will feed the Vaca Muerta Oil Sur pipeline (VMOS).
The focus of DLS Archer's business has shifted to Vaca Muerta following the sale of its workover and pulling operations in Chubut and Santa Cruz provinces. The buyer of that fleet, as Shale24 reported, was Nova Energía, the Argentine drilling services company, which assembled a 24-rig package from DLS Archer and now operates a total fleet of 26 units.
YPF's overall rig park will continue to grow with units coming from both Argentina and abroad, reaching 19 by year-end, according to industry sources consulted by Shale24. The trajectory loosens a bottleneck that has effectively frozen the rig count since the post-pandemic period.
Roughly 35 rigs were targeting shale formations in the Neuquén Basin, by industry estimates, with the count gradually rising in recent months on the back of expansion moves like the DLS Archer transfer.
Demand drivers are accumulating. Filling the VMOS pipeline through 2026, drilling additional gas wells for LNG export projects, and developing Vaca Muerta's new frontier in Río Negro province will all require incremental rigs. Imported equipment movements, predominantly from the United States, are expected to become more common.
DLS Archer has also strengthened its Training and Technology Centre as part of its renewed Vaca Muerta focus. The facility, which includes a virtual drilling simulator, has been in operation since 2023 and has attracted interest from other companies that use it for personnel training. It complements the Vaca Muerta Institute (IVM), the basin's main industry-and-academia training and innovation body, which is supported by Argentine operators and service companies, DLS Archer among them.