Matador Expects 3% Third-Quarter Oil Growth to Record Level Near 129,500 Barrels a Day
Key Facts
Matador Resources expected its oil production to rise about 3% quarter over quarter in the third quarter of 2026, to a record level near 129,500 barrels a day, according to forecasts it published with its second-quarter results. The company attributed the expected increase mainly to 13 wells at Guss coming online and to the conversion of 30 to 33 net operated horizontal wells to sales in the Delaware Basin. These were forward-looking figures for the third quarter, not actual results for that quarter. The forecast followed average oil-equivalent production of 215,631 barrels a day in the second quarter. The company said the average was up 3% year over year and exceeded the midpoint of its quarterly guidance by 3%.
Matador said new wells that came online during the first half contributed to second-quarter production exceeding expectations, including 13 wells at the Guss platform. The number of operated wells converted to sales was 23.7 net wells in the second quarter. In its third-quarter forecast, the company tied expected oil growth to continued contributions from its operated wells in the Delaware Basin. It estimated quarterly oil production would rise to a record level near 129,500 barrels a day. It also put expected sequential growth at about 3%, compared with second-quarter production.
The company raised the midpoint of its 2026 production guidance by 4% in its second-quarter results announcement, from 213,250 to 221,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day. It said the guidance adjustment reflected stronger-than-expected second-quarter performance, along with operational improvements and acquisitions. It estimated that the stronger quarterly performance would contribute about 1,700 barrels of oil equivalent a day in the second half of the year. It added about 3,550 barrels a day from expected organic improvements and about 2,500 barrels a day from the Paloma and Ridge Runner acquisitions. Matador thus linked its higher annual estimate to a combination of existing production performance, operational growth and acquired assets.
Matador closed its Paloma acquisition in October for $1.255 billion in cash, adding about 16,500 net acres in Eddy and Lea counties. The company said production from the acquired assets since June 1 had exceeded its underwriting estimates by about 10%. It also closed the Ridge Runner acquisition, which added about 13,600 net acres and established, according to the company, a nearly 50,000-net-acre position in the heart of the Woodford. It said the Rae’s Creek well produced more than 1,000 barrels of oil a day during its first 100 days of production, with cumulative output exceeding 100,000 barrels. It said it planned to drill a second well in the fourth quarter of 2026.
In a debt-related update, Matador said it expected debt payments to reach between $350 million and $400 million by the end of 2026. The estimate comes as the company expands through acquisitions announced during the year, including Paloma and Ridge Runner. The company scheduled a call to discuss its third-quarter results for November 4, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time, or 10:00 a.m. Central time. Ahead of that date, MTDR shares closed at $55.76 in the November 2, 2026, session. The forecast for oil production growth to about 129,500 barrels a day remained an earlier estimate for the third quarter among the available information.