Satellite monitoring · Sentinel-2 · Oil & Gas

Loma Campana

Treatment and disposal site for hydrocarbon-industry waste and fluids (flowback, produced water, cuttings, and drilling mud) at the Vaca Muerta formation, Añelo district (Neuquén). Remote sensing quantification of waste cell and pond surface area — measured as dark material — and its temporal evolution, over a georeferenced polygon of 531 ha.

Surveyed area 531 ha Analysis scene Sentinel-2 · 15 Feb 2026 Cloud cover 0.0% Series 2017 → 2026
531 ha
Surveyed site area
25.7 ha
Dark material detected (Feb 2026)
≈5×
Growth 2017 → 2026 (5.3 → 25.7 ha)
10 m
Sentinel-2 resolution
~5 days
Revisit frequency
10 years
Continuous time series

Methodology and scope

Data source
Sentinel-2 L2A — Copernicus Programme (European Space Agency). Surface reflectance, 10 m resolution.
Surveyed area
Georeferenced polygon of 5 vertices · 531 ha, Loma Campana concession area, Añelo, Neuquén.
Measured indicator
Waste cell and fluid pond surface area, measured as dark material: pixels with visible reflectance markedly lower (<72% of the site median). Corresponds to the site's cells/ponds; visually verified against the true-colour image.
Scenes
One low-cloud summer pass per year (2017–2026); the reference scene (15 Feb 2026) with 0% cloud cover.
Scope and limitations (explicit declaration): the indicator quantifies the aggregate area of the cells at site scale; it does not discriminate composition (proportion of liquid — flowback/produced water — vs. solid — cuttings/drilling mud) nor resolve individual cells smaller than ~30 m. Composition and hazard are confirmed by in situ physicochemical sampling or very high-resolution imagery. Remote sensing provides objective signal to prioritise inspection — it does not replace it.
Location

The site and its context

Location of the site within the Loma Campana / Añelo operational core, with the regional hydrological context: Río Neuquén and the Cerros Colorados Complex reservoirs (Los Barreales and Marí Menuco).

View on Google Maps · satellite 38.342° S · 68.731° W ↗
Regional context Loma Campana / Añelo
Regional context on high-resolution image. ⛶ to enlarge.
Finding · Sentinel-2 15 Feb 2026

Waste cells and ponds: 25.7 ha

Over the true-colour image (left), the algorithm marks (right) the dark material within the site polygon, corresponding to the waste cells and fluid ponds. The detection coincides with the cells visible in the image. Total: 25.7 ha out of 531 ha surveyed (4.8% of the site area).

Dark material detection, Sentinel-2 Feb 2026
Left: Sentinel-2 true colour (15 Feb 2026, 0% cloud cover) · Right: dark material marked (orange) = 25.7 ha. Relative reflectance contrast with respect to the site, verified against true colour. ⛶ to enlarge.
Evolution · 2017 → 2026

The waste and fluid footprint grew ≈5×

The same polygon and the same method, one summer pass per year. Cell surface area (dark material) went from 5.3 ha (2017) to 25.7 ha (2026): growth was concentrated between 2017 and 2019 and has since stabilised at around 25 ha.

Dark material 2017 vs 2026
Detection over true colour: 2017 (5.3 ha) vs 2026 (25.7 ha). In 2017 the site was just being developed; by 2026 the cells occupy a large portion of the area. ⛶ to enlarge.
Dark material (ha) per year
Context · Regional water sources

The reservoirs supplying the region: stable surface area

Independent measurement, using the same satellite, of the water surface area of the Cerros Colorados Complex reservoirs (Los Barreales + Marí Menuco), the regional freshwater and drinking-water supply. Between 2017 and 2026 the surface area fluctuated between 59,100 and 63,500 ha depending on wet and dry years, with no sustained trend: 59,133 ha in 2017 and 60,302 ha in 2026. No reduction in water surface area is observed.

Cerros Colorados reservoirs 2017 vs 2026
Los Barreales and Marí Menuco in Sentinel-2 true colour: 2017 (59,133 ha) vs 2026 (60,302 ha). To the naked eye, identical. ⛶ to enlarge.
Regulatory framework · Neuquén

The regulatory basis for monitoring

The management and disposal of hydrocarbon-industry waste and fluids is regulated. Continuous satellite monitoring provides objective, traceable, and auditable evidence.

Ley 1875 (T.O. 2267)

Environmental protection of Neuquén (Preservación del medio ambiente de Neuquén). Environmental impact assessment and activity monitoring. Authority: Subsecretaría de Ambiente.

Código de Aguas · Ley 899 / Dto. 790/99

Water Code regulating water use and discharge: abstraction from sources and effluent disposal under water-authority control.

Ley 2183

Hydrocarbon activity and surface rights: liability for soil and resources affected by operations.

All values are derived from Sentinel-2 (Copernicus Programme, ESA) at 10 m resolution, visually verified against the true-colour image. Satellite monitoring provides objective signal to prioritise where and when to inspect or sample; it does not determine composition or hazard, which require field measurement and sign-off by a licensed professional.