Matador receives drill permits for Stateline asset area in New Mexico

Oil and natural gas exploration and production firm Matador Resources has received 14 drilling permits for its Stateline asset area in southern Eddy County, New Mexico, US.

The permits were granted by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the asset area, which comprises 2,800 acres with more than 74 additional drilling locations.

The company plans to move two of its operational drilling rigs to the area to commence a drilling programme. They are expected to start drilling campaign this month-end and January next year respectively.

Matador Resources said in a statement: “Matador currently plans to develop this acreage block drilling two-mile laterals on the eastern side of the leasehold and approximately 2.5-mile laterals on the western side of the leasehold.”

The company currently has 24 permits to conduct oil and natural gas wells drilling on federal leasehold purchased from the BLM as part of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale in September 2018.

It has also received more than 100 drilling permits to conduct drilling operations in other parts of Lea and Eddy counties in New Mexico.

Matador Resources chairman and CEO Joseph Foran said: “We are obviously very excited to begin operations on the Stateline wells, and we look forward to developing this acreage over the next several years in cooperation with the various state and federal regulatory bodies in New Mexico.”

The company initially plans to drill nine wells of the 14 permits received from two pads on the Stateline asset acreage, which includes drilling of five wells on one pad and the remaining four wells on an adjacent pad.

These wells are expected to come online in the third quarter of next year in line with the completion of the expansion of a cryogenic natural gas processing plant in Eddy County by San Mateo Midstream.

San Mateo Midstream is the company’s 51%-owned midstream joint venture (JV).

In September, Matador Resources received six drilling permits from the BLM in its western Antelope Ridge asset area and also announced the initiation of drilling operations on these ‘Rodney Robinson’ wells.