ESEN
Synergies field trip participants observing Vaca Muerta outcrops in Neuquén province
Field trip

Perspectives on Vaca Muerta

Field trip · 3 days · Neuquén

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Neuquén 3 days · 2 nights Limited enrollment

Overview

Field trip designed for professionals interested in gaining a comprehensive understanding of Vaca Muerta, combining outcrop observations with theory and practical exercises.

Objectives

  • Analyze reservoir heterogeneity and its implications for development.
  • Connect geological attributes with drilling, stimulation and production processes.
  • Develop practical skills for placing and geosteering horizontal wells.

Proposed itinerary

The field trip covers two transects that combine different perspectives of Vaca Muerta. The first connects the main producing fields, providing a broad view of current petroleum activity. The second links representative outcrops of the productive facies, allowing evaluation of the different play variants.

Field trip route map — location of main stops in Neuquén on satellite imagery

The trip is 3 days long, starting on the morning of day 1 at Neuquén airport. The first night is in Chos Malal and the second in Zapala. The tour concludes on the afternoon of day 3 at Neuquén airport.

Day 1

First contact with VM

  • Añelo. Overview of activity
  • Auca Mahuida. Magmatism
  • Yesera del Tromen. First cycle
  • Puerta Curaco. VM-Qco sequence
Day 2

Arroyo Mulichinco - Loncopué

  • Paredón Negro. Second kitchen
  • Arroyo Mulichinco. Beefs, tuffs, concretions
  • Discussion on the tectonic–diagenetic relationship in shale
  • Mallín Quemado. Clinoforms
Day 3

Natural fractures & first cycle

  • Mallín de los Caballos, Landslides. Natural fractures
  • Los Catutos. First cycle
  • Picún Leufú. First cycle
Stratigraphic profile of Vaca Muerta — facies correlation and lithological units observed in the field
Stratigraphic profile of Vaca Muerta — second transect facies and units

Gallery

Vaca Muerta outcrop — participants measuring layer orientation in the field Panoramic view of Neuquén outcrops with the field group Detail of organic lamination in Vaca Muerta Formation hand sample Instructors explaining the structural framework at a natural fracture outcrop Participants collecting rock samples at a shale outcrop in the Neuquén Basin Anticlinal fold exposed in a roadcut — structural geometry analysis Field group in front of a carbonate-organic sequence characteristic of Vaca Muerta Detail of calcite veins in shale — evidence of natural hydraulic fracturing Stop at a high-organic-quality outcrop — discussion on shale oil potential Panorama of the Neuquén valley with Mesozoic outcrops in the foreground Instructor pointing out a stratigraphic contact in the Vaca Muerta sequence Rock sample with millimetric alternating lamination — Vaca Muerta sedimentology Structural data analysis with stereonet in the field Participants observing tectonic breccia at an outcrop Turbiditic sequence and its cross-cutting relationship with shear fractures View of the terrain with field trip stops — elevated perspective Synergies group at the end of day three — closing of the Vaca Muerta field trip

Instructors

MF

Lic. Manuel Fantin

Reservoir geology · Director of Synergies

Education: Geologist (University of Buenos Aires, 2003).

Background: Over 20 years in the oil industry. Specializes in shale reservoir characterization with a focus on the Vaca Muerta play and Neuquén Basin.

JL

Dr. Jeremías Likerman

Structural geology · CONICET / UBA

Education: PhD in Geological Sciences (University of Buenos Aires, 2015).

Position: CONICET Associate Researcher. Professor at the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, UBA.

Reserve your spot on the next field trip

Submit your pre-registration form. We will confirm the departure once the minimum enrollment is reached.

Request pre-registration