Cutting-edge technology
Nabors Industries, a global leader in drilling services, has confirmed the transfer of its next-generation F-15 rig from Crosby, Texas, to Vaca Muerta. The unit, photographed this week at the Texas yard with Argentine flags already flying, will join the fleet the company operates in Neuquén in the coming weeks.
The F-15 belongs to the PACE-F series, known for full automation and the ability to drill long horizontal wells faster, more efficiently and more safely. Its arrival underscores operators’ commitment to cutting-edge technology in Latin America’s most important shale formation.
Nabors already has more than 15 active rigs in Vaca Muerta. The F-15 expands on contracts signed for 2024–2025, mainly with Vista Energy, a leading independent oil and gas producer in Vaca Muerta, which plans to speed up its campaign by drilling four to eight additional wells per year. Adding equipment of this caliber allows Vista to maintain and expand our development pace, Vista COO Juan Garoby said after the most recent contract was signed in Houston.
Before heading south, the F-15 and its sister rigs set records in the Permian Basin, the world’s most productive shale region.
Recent highlights:
- Laterals reaching up to 6,700 meters (22,000 feet) drilled without interruptions
- An average reduction of four days per well through SmartDRILL and SmartSLIDE automation
- Less than three days for moves between wells on the same pad (a 2024 record in West Texas)
- Rate of penetration improved by as much as 40% in difficult formations
- Fully electric operation in several deployments, reducing emissions and fuel costs
Experience in geological and operational conditions similar to Vaca Muerta ensures the F-15 arrives seasoned and ready to replicate that performance in Neuquén.
Vaca Muerta’s boom in context
With estimated reserves of 16 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 308 TCF of gas, Vaca Muerta is advancing steadily toward large-scale exports. In 2025, shale oil production is growing more than 20% year over year, driven precisely by automated and electrified rigs like those deployed by Nabors. The PACE-F24 was the first fully renewable unit in the basin.
The arrival of the F-15 follows other recent announcements and reinforces a clear trend: more meters drilled per day, fewer days per well and continued cost reductions. Analysts estimate that, at the current pace of technological adoption, Argentina could exceed 500,000 barrels per day of crude exports by 2026–2027.
In short, the F-15 is far more than just another rig. It brings Permian-proven technology to Argentina’s energy development. The sector is welcoming it with high expectations and the prospect of new records ahead.