DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 17, 2019-- Matador Resources Company (NYSE: MTDR) (“Matador” or the “Company”) today announced the successful approval and receipt of 14 drilling permits for its Stateline asset area in southern Eddy County, New Mexico from the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”). The Company had anticipated receipt of these permits late in the fourth quarter of 2019 and is pleased to confirm that the Company now has 24 permits to drill oil and natural gas wells on federal leasehold acquired by Matador from the BLM in the New Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale in September 2018 (the “BLM Acquisition”). Furthermore, Matador has received more than 100 additional drilling permits to conduct drilling operations in other portions of its federal leasehold in Lea and Eddy Counties, New Mexico.

The Stateline asset area consists of 2,800 gross and net acres and is one of the key tracts Matador acquired in the BLM Acquisition with as many as 74 additional drilling locations. Matador intends to move two of its operated drilling rigs to the Stateline asset area to initiate a multi-year drilling program there, with the two rigs now anticipated to begin drilling operations in late December 2019 and January 2020, respectively. Matador currently plans to develop this acreage block drilling two-mile laterals on the eastern side of the leasehold and approximately 2.5-mile laterals on the western side of the leasehold. Matador has submitted applications to the BLM for permits to drill each of the locations in the Stateline asset area, and all of these wells are expected to be either two-mile or 2.5-mile laterals.

Of the 14 permits the Company has received in its Stateline asset area, Matador initially expects to drill nine wells from two pads on this acreage, including five wells on one pad and four wells on an adjacent pad. The five-well pad is expected to test the Avalon, Second Bone Spring, Wolfcamp A-XY, Wolfcamp A-Lower and Wolfcamp B formations, while the second pad is expected to test these same intervals with the exception of the Avalon formation. Both initial drilling pads will be located on the eastern side of the Stateline asset area in accordance with the Company’s current development plans for this asset area. These nine wells are expected to be completed and turned to sales late in the third quarter of 2020 in conjunction with the expected completion of the expansion of a cryogenic natural gas processing plant in Eddy County, New Mexico by San Mateo Midstream, the Company’s 51%-owned midstream joint venture.

Joseph Wm. Foran, Matador’s Chairman and CEO, commented, “Matador especially appreciates and acknowledges the diligence and professionalism of the entire team at the BLM who saw the initial Stateline permitting process through to completion as we know the BLM has a very heavy workload at this time reviewing all the environmental, geological and engineering details associated with each application, amounting to hundreds of pages per application. We are obviously very excited to begin operations on the Stateline wells, and we look forward to developing this acreage over the next several years in cooperation with the various state and federal regulatory bodies in New Mexico.”

Additionally, as reported in the Company’s September 23, 2019 press release, Matador obtained six initial drilling permits from the BLM on its 1,200 net acre Rodney Robinson tract in western Antelope Ridge in the third quarter of 2019. Since that release, the Company received four additional permits on the Rodney Robinson acreage in December 2019. Drilling and completion operations are currently in progress on the Rodney Robinson tract, and Matador anticipates drilling six initial wells on this tract from two separate three-well pads. These six wells, which are all permitted as two-mile laterals, are currently scheduled to be completed and turned to sales late in the first quarter of 2020. Matador has submitted 29 applications to the BLM for permits to drill wells on the Rodney Robinson tract, all of which are two-mile laterals. Ten of these permits, including those permits on the six wells currently in progress, have already been received, and the remainder are in various stages of review with the BLM.

About Matador Resources Company

Matador is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production and acquisition of oil and natural gas resources in the United States, with an emphasis on oil and natural gas shale and other unconventional plays. Its current operations are focused primarily on the oil and liquids-rich portion of the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring plays in the Delaware Basin in Southeast New Mexico and West Texas. Matador also operates in the Eagle Ford shale play in South Texas and the Haynesville shale and Cotton Valley plays in Northwest Louisiana. Additionally, Matador conducts midstream operations, primarily through its midstream joint venture, San Mateo, in support of its exploration, development and production operations and provides natural gas processing, oil transportation services, natural gas, oil and salt water gathering services and salt water disposal services to third parties.

For more information, visit Matador Resources Company at www.matadorresources.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. “Forward-looking statements” are statements related to future, not past, events. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and include any statement that does not directly relate to a current or historical fact. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “could,” “believe,” “would,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “expect,” “may,” “should,” “continue,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “project,” “hypothetical,” “forecasted” and similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about guidance, projected or forecasted financial and operating results, future liquidity, results in certain basins, objectives, project timing, expectations and intentions, regulatory and governmental actions and other statements that are not historical facts. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements, and such forward-looking statements may not prove to be accurate. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the following risks related to financial and operational performance: general economic conditions; the Company’s ability to execute its business plan, including whether its drilling program is successful; changes in oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids prices and the demand for oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids; its ability to replace reserves and efficiently develop current reserves; costs of operations; delays and other difficulties related to producing oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids; delays and other difficulties related to regulatory and governmental approvals and restrictions; its ability to make acquisitions on economically acceptable terms; its ability to integrate acquisitions; availability of sufficient capital to execute its business plan, including from future cash flows, increases in its borrowing base and otherwise; weather and environmental conditions; the operating results of the Company’s midstream joint venture’s expansion of the Black River cryogenic processing plant, including the timing of the further expansion of such plant; the timing and operating results of the buildout by the Company’s midstream joint venture of oil, natural gas and water gathering and transportation systems and the drilling of any additional salt water disposal wells, including in conjunction with the expansion of the midstream joint venture’s services and assets into new areas in Eddy County, New Mexico; and other important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. For further discussions of risks and uncertainties, you should refer to Matador’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including the “Risk Factors” section of Matador’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Matador undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release, except as required by law, including the securities laws of the United States and the rules and regulations of the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

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Source: Matador Resources Company

Mac Schmitz
Capital Markets Coordinator
(972) 371-5225
investors@matadorresources.com