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- Glossary
- Well pad (multi-well pad)
Vaca Muerta glossary
Well pad (multi-well pad)
A single site from which several horizontal wells are drilled side by side: the standard layout in Vaca Muerta.
A pad is a prepared site for drilling several wells from the same place. Wellheads sit a few meters apart; each well goes down vertically and then turns horizontal toward a different part of the formation.
The layout reduces the surface footprint per well: one access road, one site, fewer rig moves. Each pad is larger than a single-well site and concentrates drilling and fracturing for weeks.
Why it matters to landowners and companies
For the landowner, a pad is several wells in one site: the easement table counts wells, and a site over 1 ha is a special installation. For companies, it is where truck, water and sand traffic concentrates.
How it shows on the map
The "Vaca Muerta wells" layer shows wellheads and the pads layer shows the site footprint. Open the map.
Law and source
- Decreto nacional 861/96 (Cuencas Cuyana y Neuquina), tablas de servidumbre; actualizado por la Resolución Conjunta 2/2026 de las Secretarías de Energía y de Agricultura (BO 06/02/2026)