Cutting-edge technology
Nabors Industries Sends Its F-15 Rig to Vaca Muerta: A New Boost for Argentina’s Oil Boom
Its arrival underscores operators’ push for cutting-edge technology in Latin America’s leading shale formation.
#Vista Energy
Vista is Argentina’s first pure-play shale operator. Its business is focused exclusively on the production of high-quality oil in Vaca Muerta. The company’s purpose is to become a low-cost, low-carbon operator, ranking as the country’s second-largest producer of unconventional oil. It recently strengthened its leadership by acquiring strategic assets from Equinor in the basin.
Vaca Muerta has become the standout driver of Argentina’s energy production
Argentina breaks its all-time oil production record: 10 key factors behind the fast-growing boom
Vaca Muerta is now the world’s second-most productive shale formation, trailing only the Permian Basin in the United States. Here are the numbers, drivers and projections behind a level of growth Argentina has never seen before.
Exclusive insights from one of Vaca Muerta’s key players
Miguel Galuccio to Shale24: “We are 100 percent Vaca Muerta and Argentina’s largest independent exporter.”
During Vista Energy’s recent Investor Day, where Miguel Galuccio, the company’s chief executive, laid out a strategic plan that includes a US$4.5 billion investment in Vaca Muerta through 2028, Shale24 secured an exclusive interview to capture his outlook.
Expanding production capacity over the next five years
Vista Energy plans $4.5B spending on Argentina's Vaca Muerta, growth strategy focuses
Vista outlined its five-year growth strategy at the event, targeting output of over 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2030
YPF, Vista Energy and Pluspetrol are leading the way.
Projections for Vaca Muerta: 28,040 fracturing stages in 2026 as an indicator of sustained growth
A specialized report highlights the sector's potential and emphasizes that its activity depends not on temporary incentives, but on operational maturation. It also notes the impact on import reduction and the development of related sectors.
The numbers for the third quarter
Vista Energy exceeds 126,800 barrels of oil equivalent per day and continues to reduce costs in Vaca Muerta
The company is accelerating its role in the shale oil boom, driven by increased efficiency in wells in Bajada del Palo Oeste and La Amarga Chica.
Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale play expands its production
Vaca Muerta on track for 28,000+ frac stages in 2026, signaling sustained shale momentum
The forecast underscores a shift from exploratory pads to full-scale development, where multi-well pads are becoming the norm to slash drilling costs and boost returns