News
Jul 15, 2025

A Smart Approach to Latin America’s Unconventionals

Innovative strategies are helping Latin America unlock complex unconventional plays and turn rock variability into results.

In unconventional fields across Latin America, teams are learning the hard way that promising formations don’t always translate into predictable production. Wells that seem nearly identical on paper behave in wildly different ways underground. Without clear answers, even the best drilling and completion designs struggle to deliver consistent results.

If this challenge sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many operators across the region are facing similar obstacles as they work to unlock the rich reserves of Latin America. So what’s really happening in these reservoirs, and how can operators overcome it?

Complexity Beneath the Surface

In a Latin American basin, the land stretches wide and open under a bright blue sky. Rolling plateaus fade into distant ridges, and trucks leave faint trails of dust as they wind along narrow roads. At first glance, the setting feels calm, but beneath the surface, complexity is already starting to show.

🔵 Rock variability: Layers that appeared uniform on logs are behaving unpredictably, with hydrocarbons flowing freely in some zones and staying locked away in others.

🔵 Flow inconsistency: Porosity and permeability shifts along the lateral are causing uneven production across stages.

🔵 Geochemical complexity: Subtle differences in the reservoir’s chemistry are introducing challenges that completions alone cannot solve.

Turning Insight Into Action

The turning point came when the team moved from reaction to understanding. Instead of pushing harder, they started thinking smarter.

🔵 Production Clarity: The team analyzed hydrocarbon movement through the reservoir to guide better planning and reduce wasted effort.

🔵 Geochemical Insights: They applied horizontal characterization and maturity modeling to pinpoint sweet spots and design a strategy that delivered consistent results.

🔵 Porosity Optimization: By recognizing heterogeneity and phase separation challenges, they refined their completions approach to unlock stronger well performance.

By focusing on these drivers, the team not only saved valuable time but also unlocked a clear path to improved economic outcomes. What started as an uncertain project became a foundation for profitable, scalable development.

Looking Beyond the Basin

From uncertainty to confidence, the site became proof that even the most complex reservoirs can deliver with the right approach. For operators across Latin America, the future isn’t about drilling harder. It’s about drilling smarter. In these rich, challenging plays, smarter decisions today will define the energy success stories of tomorrow.

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