Dallas-based Matador Resources Co. and San Mateo Midstream LLC— the company’s 51%-owned midstream joint venture with Houston private equity firm Five Point Energy LLC (49%) began operating a fifth drilling rig in August to drill an additional salt water disposal well in the Greater Stebbins area in Eddy County, NM.
The well and associated facilities are needed and expected to handle additional produced water volumes expected to result from Matador’s increased drilling and completions activity in the area this year, the company said in a release Oct. 20. Matador expects to turn to sales nine wells in the area during this year’s fourth quarter.
Drilling operations were completed in late September. The well is currently undergoing completion operations.
Matador’s portion of San Mateo’s capital expenditures was about $15 million for third-quarter 2021, including the drilling costs associated with the new salt water disposal well, about 6% below the company’s estimate of $16 million for the third quarter.
Matador contracted the fifth operated drilling rig for 6 months. As a result, in early October, following the conclusion of drilling operations on the salt water disposal well, Matador moved the rig to its Rodney Robinson leasehold in the western portion of the Antelope Ridge asset area in Lea County, NM. The company is currently running two rigs on the leasehold and expects to drill nine new wells there during fourth-quarter 2021. These nine Rodney Robinson wells are expected to be completed in January and February 2022 and turned to sales before the end of first-quarter 2022.
Matador incurred capital expenditures for drilling, completing, and equipping wells of about $121 million, about 14% below the company’s estimate of $140 million for these expenditures for third-quarter 2021.