Matador Expands Delaware Basin With Paloma, Ridge Runner Acquisitions
Matador Resources Company (MTDR) agreed to acquire Paloma Permian for $1.275 billion and signed a separate deal for Ridge Runner acreage, expanding its Delaware Basin position, the company said Thursday.Matador's wholly owned subsidiary signed a definitive agreement to buy Paloma Permian, an EnCap Investments portfolio company.The $1.275 billion cash acquisition includes 16,235 net undeveloped acres and producing assets in Eddy and Lea counties, New Mexico, with estimated third-quarter output of about 11,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day, including 57% oil.Matador expects to complete the acquisition in the fourth quarter of 2026, it said.Separately, Matador agreed to acquire primarily undeveloped acreage from Ridge Runner Resources II, another EnCap-backed company, in the core of the Woodford play across West Texas and Southeast New Mexico.The Ridge Runner deal, together with earlier land purchases, will expand Matador's Woodford position to about 50,000 contiguous undeveloped net acres, primarily around Antelope Ridge in Lea County, New Mexico, and West Texas.The Paloma and Ridge Runner acquisitions together will expand Matador's Delaware Basin footprint to about 240,000 net acres, strengthening its long-term development inventory, the company said.Matador also announced successful results from its first Woodford exploration well in Southeast Lea County, New Mexico. The Rae's Creek well produced more than 2,200 boe/d during its official 24-hour test on June 29, 2026.Oil accounted for 72% of the Rae's Creek well's initial production. The well continues to outperform the average Texas Woodford well by about 20% on a 60-day cumulative oil production basis, the company said.Matador said the Rae's Creek results validate the commercial potential of the Woodford formation in this part of the Delaware Basin.