'Co-opetition': a game-changing synergy among operators. A case delivering a Rosetta Stone for the Vaca Muerta Stratigraphy (Argentina)

GONZALEZ TOMASSINI, F.; VALLEJO, D.; LEANZA, H.A.; GOMEZ RIVAROLA, L.; KOHLER, G.; MINISINI, D.; SIMO, T.; RODRIGUEZ SCHELOTTO, M.L.; LIBERMAN, A.; SYLWAN, C.; ALONSO, S.; LANUSSE NOGUERA, I.; FANTIN, M.A.; KIETZMANN, D.A.; GONZALEZ, G.; DESJARDINS, P.; DOMINGUEZ, F.; MARCHAL, D.; SANTIAGO, M.; SATTLER, F.; AGUIRRE-URRETA, M.B.; REINJENSTEIN, H.M.; VITTORE, F.; JAIT, D.; AGUIRRE, H.; BANDE, A.; CUERVO, S.; GUERBEROFF, D.; CROUSSE, L.C.; SURIANO, J.; FEINSTEIN, E.; DEPINE, G.; DE LA CAL, H.; AMBROSIO, A

San Antonio

Congreso; URTEC2016; 2016

SPE-AAPG-SEG

Five years after the first oil produced from a well targeting the Vaca Muerta Fm as an unconventional shale reservoir, more than 60 exploration wells from black oil to dry gas have tested its potential, and moved the play into production. A unique fact to the Neuquén Basin is that it is almost completely covered by fairly good resolution 3D seismic data. This dataset coupled with the intense data acquisition from the exploration wells provided a significant leap in the understanding of the distribution, variability, and behavior of the reservoir. The Vaca Muerta Fm. is composed by parasequence sets of prograding clinoforms whose total organic-rich thickness ranges from 150 to 400 m at the study area and whose reservoir properties show systematic vertical and lateral heterogeneities. The existence of diverse conceptual models and nomenclatures applied to the stratigraphic framework made communication challenging among companies and with universities, both in the subsurface and outcrops. The need for a common language became of paramount importance for synergies to occur during data trades, technical workshops, and joint industry projects. Joint field work between companies and universities was the trigger in building strong relationships between colleagues and in the construction of a simple and practical stratigraphic model, which resulted in the generation of a basin wide Vaca Muerta stratigraphic chart, a sort of Rosetta Stone. The spirit of co-opetition (cooperation in an environment of competition) gave rise to the multi-company and academic ?Transecta Project? that resulted in a book with 20 chapters. This multiscale and multidisciplinary study of the Vaca Muerta unconventional play consists of an agreed regional stratigraphic framework involving 15 hydrocarbon concessions and an outcrop (Puerta Curaco section). The main achievements of this project include: 1) common stratigraphic nomenclature; 2) common criteria for definition of the top of Vaca Muerta Fm; 3) comparison of reservoir characteristics among the distinct sectors of the play; 4) definition of the most productive intervals.