Matador Resources increases oil production following “surprise” Permian success in 2023

(Bloomberg) – Matador Resources Co. pumped more oil than expected in the first three months of 2024 at a time when most U.S. producers have pledged flat to moderate production growth this year.

Matador also plans to hit the high end of its full-year output expectations, the Dallas-based company said in its earnings report Tuesday. The company’s production surprise comes on the back of better-than-expected well performance in New Mexico, in the part of the state’s Permian basin that straddles Texas.

U.S. shale producers surprised nearly everyone to the upside with their production in 2023, and the nation now pumps more oil than ever — making it the top producer globally. That’s helped to keep oil prices in check amid supply cuts from the OPEC+ alliance.

Matador’s 2% production over-performance to start the year was done while spending less money on drilling than projected, the company said. During the first quarter of 2024, Matador’s average oil production of 84,777 bpd beat its guidance of 83,500 bpd, the company said.

“We now expect full-year production for 2024 at the high end of our previously announced average production guidance for oil of 91,000 to 95,000 bopd,” the statement said.

Lead image: A gas flare burns at a Matador site in the Permian basin area of Loving County, Texas. (Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg)