Matador Resources announced the acquisition of 5,154 net undeveloped acres in the core of the Delaware Basin through the Bureau of Land Management’s recent Oil and Gas Lease Sale, expanding the company’s Southeast New Mexico footprint in a transaction valued at approximately $1.143 billion.
The newly acquired acreage is located adjacent to Matador’s existing operated units and is expected to add more than 141 net operated drilling locations normalized to two-mile laterals. The company said the acreage includes exposure to nine or more prospective formations and supports extended-reach laterals exceeding three miles.
Matador said the acquisition is designed to enhance operating efficiencies by leveraging its existing infrastructure, field teams, water recycling processes, and natural gas takeaway capacity in the Delaware Basin. The company also highlighted that completed cost per lateral foot in these operating areas currently averages 10% to 20% below Matador’s corporate average.
The leases include an 87.5% net revenue interest with 10-year terms across all depths. Matador noted the transaction is expected to strengthen throughput volumes and revenue streams for its San Mateo midstream business due to the proximity of the acquired tracts to existing infrastructure.
Matador plans to fund the acquisition through cash on hand and its existing credit facility. The company added that it has fully repaid its reserve-based lending facility and expects adjusted free cash flow for full-year 2026 to approach $1.2 billion, based on early May 2026 strip pricing assumptions.
Joseph Wm. Foran, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Matador Resources, said the transaction represents a “$1.1 billion expansion” of the company’s Delaware Basin asset base and described the acreage as being in the “core-of-the-core” of the basin.
KEY QUOTES:
“Matador is pleased to announce a $1.1 billion expansion of its premier Delaware Basin asset base in Southeast New Mexico through the recent BLM Lease Sale. The company acquired 5,154 net undeveloped acres, all of which are in the ‘core-of-the-core’ of the Delaware Basin and are strategic and highly complementary to Matador’s current acreage position.”
“This acquisition not only extends the amount and the duration of Matador’s high-quality inventory and reserve base but also enhances the Company’s current assets with increased operating efficiencies. These lease acquisitions lend themselves to extended reach laterals of three miles or more, leveraging of existing facilities and infrastructure with Matador’s existing field teams, and increased midstream value from potential future volume additions in the Delaware Basin.”
Joseph Wm. Foran, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Matador Resources
“We believe our proven track record of value creation over the years de-risks this transaction as evidenced by our 2018 acquisition of the State line and Rodney Robinson Federal tracts. To date, Matador has already recovered all associated capital invested in lease acquisitions, drilling, and completions associated with those tracts, as well as generating an additional $1.9 billion in returns from these projects.”
“We have full confidence that our reservoir, geology, midstream, and operating teams will maximize the value of these new tracts in a similar manner.”
Joseph Wm. Foran, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Matador Resources
