Case Study: Tecpetrol optimizes fracturing zones and lateral placement with SLB's LithoFlex service

Tecpetrol Optimizes Location of Fracturing Zones and Lateral Placement Using LithoFlex Service

Tecpetrol worked with SLB to evaluate rock heterogeneity in a vertical well in the Vaca Muerta Formation in Neuquén, Argentina, so it could optimize the placement of fracturing zones and the eventual lateral. Because well conditions prevented wireline logging, the company needed a cost-efficient way to assess formation quality and production potential using the LithoFlex service.

SLB recommended the LithoFlex multifactor shale-cuttings evaluation-while-drilling service, which used HRDM, XRF, and DRIFTS to characterize lithology, mineralogy, and geochemistry from cuttings. The service identified productive intervals, linked poor performance in one stage to high smectite content, and showed that stages two and four had higher TOC and better production rates, helping Tecpetrol optimize fracture design and lateral placement.

LithoFlex