Matador extends Delaware basin position with $1.1-billion acquisition in recent lease sale
Matador Resources Co. has acquired 5,154 net undeveloped acres in the core of the Delaware basin in southeast New Mexico as part of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Oil and Gas Lease Sale held May 20.
The southeast New Mexico acreage, for which the operator paid $1.14 billion, is “highly complimentary to Matador’s current acreage position,” said Joseph Wm. Foran, Matador’s founder, chairman, and chief executive officer.
The acquisition “extends the amount and the duration” of Matador’s inventory and reserve base and “enhances the company’s current assets with increased operating efficiencies,” he said, noting the leasehold lends itself to extended reach laterals of 3 miles or more.
Matador said the transaction “adds over 141 net operated locations (normalized to 2-mile laterals), including extended reach laterals, U-turn well designs, multi-well developments and completions, emerging horizons and targets, with opportunities for enhanced water recycling processes and natural gas takeaway capacity.”
Prior to the sale, as of Dec. 31, 2025, Matador held 212,500 net acres in the Delaware basin with average production of 205,000 boe/d (59% oil).
The Bureau of Land Management leased 74 parcels totaling 33,530 acres in New Mexico and Texas in the quarterly sale. Combined bonus bids and rental payments totaled about $4 billion.
All parcels received multiple bids, according to Efficient Markets, a digital marketplace that partnered with BLM to facilitate the sale. A total of 61 unique, financially vetted bidders placed a combined 1,072 bids, with the highest per-parcel bid reaching $405,761,280, Efficient Markets noted in a release May 21.
Also part of the federal oil and gas lease sale, Devon Energy added 16,300 net undeveloped acres to its Delaware basin position in 24 parcels for $2.6 billion.
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Mikaila Adams
Managing Editor, Content Strategist
Mikaila Adams has 20 years of experience as an editor, most of which has been centered on the oil and gas industry. She enjoyed 12 years focused on the business/finance side of the industry as an editor for Oil & Gas Journal's sister publication, Oil & Gas Financial Journal (OGFJ). After OGFJ ceased publication in 2017, she joined Oil & Gas Journal and was later named Managing Editor - News. Her role has expanded into content strategy. She holds a degree from Texas Tech University.