Continental Resources seeks to explore Vaca Muerta’s eastern flank with La Huella block

Continental Resources Inc. submitted a private initiative on May 13 to Río Negro province’s Secretariat of Energy and Environment to gain access to La Huella, a 506-sq-km block on the eastern edge of Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale formation.

Río Negro Gov. Alberto Weretilneck confirmed the filing days later during a public event. “Continental submitted a private initiative for Lago Pellegrini, called La Huella, which is the easternmost Vaca Muerta area so far,” he said.

Vaca Muerta extends across two provinces in Patagonia: Neuquén, the production core, and neighboring Río Negro.

La Huella lies in northern Río Negro province, near the Lago Pellegrini area and west of the Alto Valle cities of Cipolletti and Cinco Saltos. The block sits on the eastern flank of the Neuquén basin, in the farthest eastern extension of Vaca Muerta explored so far in Río Negro.

Fourth entry, first solo move

The La Huella initiative is the latest in a series of moves by Continental Resources aimed at building its Argentina position. What sets the move apart is the private initiative, which allows a company to propose development of an area not currently under tender. The filing also marks Continental’s first move in Argentina without an apparent partner.

The filing remains under technical and legal review by Río Negro authorities. If accepted, the province must launch a public tender in which the original proponent retains a right of preference. Continental could match a higher third-party bid to secure the block.

While not confirmed, given the size of the area, the La Huella block could be divided during the process.

Details of Continental’s proposed work program, including investment commitments, drilling targets, and exploration timelines, have not been disclosed.

La Huella

La Huella was known as Lago Pellegrini during its conventional stage, during which four wells were drilled, mainly targeting the Precuyo Group at depths of nearly 4,700 m. In its previous tender, late last decade, the block attracted a single bidder: Capex SA.

On the eastern edge of the basin, the Vaca Muerta formation thins considerably. From more than 300 m in the Neuquén core, thickness declines to about 40-50 m, with higher carbonate content and a different pressure regime.

Productive unconventional results have already been reported on Río Negro’s eastern flank. Phoenix Global Resources ’ PET.RN.CoS.x-3(h) well in Confluencia Sur reportedly reached more than 3,100 b/d in initial production tests, providing one of the strongest indications of a play extension.

For reference, Continental’s other Río Negro block, the 101-sq km Loma Guadalosa—about one fifth the size of La Huella—holds 48.4 MMboe of prospective resource.

Of note, La Huella lies outside the current transportation infrastructure route advancing from Neuquén toward Punta Colorada, on Río Negro’s Atlantic coast.

Continental has not yet joined Argentina’s RIGI large-investment incentive regime, which could support development of new infrastructure.