Argentina’s Vaca Muerta fracking activity rises to record high in March
Fracking activity in Vaca Muerta, the biggest shale play in Argentina, rose 7% to 733 frac stages in March from the previous month, reaching the highest level on record as a rise in oil and natural gas prices and a recovery in demand improves the prospects for sales, a data report showed April 5.
The number of frac stages was up from 685 in February and was more than the previous record of 712 in March 2019, the Argentine unit of Houston-based services company NCS Multistage said in a data report.
Of the activity last month, Argentina’s state-backed YPF was the most active with 230 stages, trailed by Argentina’s Tecpetrol with 150 and Shell with 124. BP-backed Pan American Energy accounted for 92 of the stages, while Argentina’s Pluspetrol did for another 68, Chevron for 39, ExxonMobil for 26 and Vista Oil & Gas for four, according to the report.