Matador’s proposed $1.275 billion Paloma acquisition would add 16,235 net undeveloped acres and an estimated 10,600–11,600 boe/d of third-quarter production in southeast New Mexico, while a separate Ridge Runner transaction would expand its Woodford position.

Published by Allstream Insiders

Allstream Insiders Summary

Matador Resources Company has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Paloma Permian LLC for $1.275 billion in cash, subject to customary closing adjustments. According to Matador’s July 23 announcement, the proposed transaction would add 16,235 net undeveloped acres in Eddy and Lea counties, New Mexico, along with estimated third-quarter 2026 production of approximately 10,600 to 11,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day, 57% of it oil.

Matador also announced a separate agreement to acquire primarily undeveloped Woodford acreage from Ridge Runner Resources II. Matador did not disclose consideration for that transaction. Together with its prior acreage additions, the company said the Ridge Runner transaction would give it about 50,000 contiguous undeveloped net acres in the Woodford and bring its Delaware Basin position to about 240,000 net acres.

The Paloma acquisition was expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary conditions. The announcement describes proposed acquisitions and a tested exploration well; it does not announce a new field-development budget, a sanctioned processing plant, a gathering-system expansion or contractor awards.

Matador’s announced Delaware Basin transactions at a glance

What the $1.275 billion Paloma transaction would add

Matador said the Paloma properties include undeveloped acreage and producing oil and natural gas assets in southeast New Mexico. The company identified more than 156 net locations, normalized to two-mile laterals, primarily in the Bone Spring and Wolfcamp formations. It also reported 55 million boe of proved reserves and $816 million of PV-10 for the acquired properties as of May 31, 2026.

Those reserve and PV-10 figures are company-reported valuation and reserve measures; they are not a construction budget or a schedule for a new development phase. Matador said it expected the acquisition to improve its 2027 and 2028 turn-in-line well economics, but it did not identify individual drilling locations, well costs, rig providers, completion crews or first-production dates.

Ridge Runner transaction expands the Woodford position

The separate Ridge Runner agreement concerns primarily undeveloped acreage in the Woodford play across West Texas and southeast New Mexico. Matador said the acquisition, together with earlier land additions, would build a roughly 50,000-net-acre contiguous Woodford position centered primarily on its Antelope Ridge area in Lea County, New Mexico, and West Texas.

Matador reported that its Rae’s Creek exploratory well in southeast Lea County recorded initial production above 2,200 boe/d, with oil accounting for 72% of the 24-hour test conducted June 29. The company characterized the result as supporting commercial viability in the area. A well test does not establish the performance of future wells or constitute a sanctioned multi-well development program.

The company said it expects opportunities for extended-reach laterals, batch development and multi-well completions could improve 2027 drilling and completion capital efficiency. Matador also said it aims to reduce well costs by 30% to 40% over 12 to 18 months through operational integration. Those are company expectations, not confirmed cost reductions or awarded service scopes.

Closing and execution remain ahead

The Paloma transaction had not closed when Matador issued the July announcement. The company said closing was expected in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to customary conditions. Matador said it planned to fund the Paloma and Ridge Runner acquisitions with cash on hand and borrowings under its existing reserve-based lending facility.

The release does not disclose a final closing notice, an integrated capital program, gathering or processing commitments, a water-infrastructure plan, or EPC and equipment awards. The announced acreage and well-test data should therefore be separated from any assumption that specific construction, midstream or procurement work has begun.

What could be involved if Matador advances the acreage into development?

Allstream perspective: If Matador converts acquired locations into future drilling and development programs, potential activity could involve surveying and engineering, drilling rigs, casing and tubulars, completions services, water management, artificial-lift equipment, production facilities, tankage, electrical and automation systems, gathering lines, compression, gas processing, produced-water gathering and disposal services.

Those are possible categories associated with an upstream development program, not work packages announced by Matador. The company has not named contractors, service companies, equipment suppliers, midstream expansions or procurement schedules for the Paloma or Ridge Runner acreage.

Allstream perspective: material resource additions, but not a construction announcement

The material near-term event is the proposed $1.275 billion Paloma acquisition and its expected production and inventory additions. The separate Ridge Runner transaction and Rae’s Creek result provide additional context for Matador’s stated Woodford strategy, but neither announcement establishes a fixed execution schedule for development work.

Decision-useful follow-ups would include a Paloma closing announcement, a capital-program update, well schedules, production guidance, gathering and processing plans, or named engineering, equipment and service awards. Until then, the announcement should be tracked as an upstream acreage and producing-asset acquisition with forward-looking development potential, not a defined construction program.