Matador Resources Company Announces Operational Updates for 2013; Provides Earnings Guidance for 2014
January 08, 2014 at 09:01 pm
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Matador Resources Company announced that its 2013 total oil production was approximately 2.1 million barrels and its 2013 total natural gas production was approximately 12.9 billion cubic feet. Both production totals were at the high end of the company's 2013 production guidance, as increased on November 6, 2013, of 2.0 to 2.1 million barrels for oil and 12.0 to 13.0 billion cubic feet for natural gas. Matador achieved the high end of its production guidance despite having 15 to 20% of its production capacity shut in at various times during the fourth quarter of 2013 as the company continued its operational practices of pad and batch drilling in the Eagle Ford shale and shutting in producing wells while it conducts hydraulic fracturing operations on offsetting wells. Matador's total oil production increased approximately 75% year-over-year, as compared to the approximately 1.2 million barrels of oil produced in 2012. Matador achieved the high end of its production guidance as a result of better-than-anticipated initial performance from several of its recently completed wells, including the Ranger 33 State Com #1H well in Lea County, New Mexico, the Lewton #5H well in DeWitt County, Texas and the Danysh #3H and #7H wells in Karnes County, Texas. Of note, the Danysh #3H and #7H wells were drilled on 40-acre spacing and completed with a later generation fracture treatment using more fluid and more proppant and are initially outperforming older wells drilled on the same lease at 80-acre spacing but completed using an earlier generation fracture treatment. The company also completed and placed on production four new Martin Ranch wells in La Salle County, Texas at the first of December, about two weeks earlier than originally planned due to time savings achieved on Matador's first four-well, batch drilled pad using a recently contracted rig equipped with a "walking" package. The company estimates that it also achieved savings of approximately $325,000 per well as a result of these batch drilling operations, as compared to recently drilled wells at Martin Ranch. Matador continues with the early performance of its first horizontal well in Lea County, New Mexico, the Ranger 33 State Com #1H. This well is a 4,300-ft horizontal lateral drilled in the Second Bone Spring sand and completed with 18 frac stages, including 165,000 Bbl of fluid and 7.5 million pounds of sand. The well was placed on production at the end of October 2013 and has continued to clean up and improve since that time. During the month of December 2013, the well produced a total of approximately 15,000 barrels of oil despite being shut in for several days while tubing and gas lift valves were installed. The well's daily oil production continued to increase throughout December and since the initiation of early gas lift in late December (similar to how the company is producing its Eagle Ford shale wells in South Texas), the well has averaged 647 Bbl/d of oil and 412 Mcf/d of natural gas (715 BOE/d with 90% oil). Both the December oil production and the recent well performance exceeded the company's projections for these time periods. In addition, Matador has just completed its Dorothy White #1H well in Loving County, Texas with 20 frac stages including approximately 200,000 Bbl of fluid and 9.8 million pounds of sand.
The company affirmed the 2014 guidance provided including the following. Estimated total oil production from 2.8 million barrels to 3.1 million barrels, estimated total natural gas production from 13.5 billion cubic feet to 15.0 billion cubic feet, estimated total oil and natural gas revenues from $325 million to $355 million, estimated Adjusted EBITDA from $235 million to $265 million and estimated capital expenditures of $440 million.
Matador Resources Company is an independent energy company. The Company is engaged in in the exploration, development, production and acquisition of oil and natural gas resources in the United States, with an emphasis on oil and natural gas shale and other unconventional plays. It operates through two segments: exploration and production and midstream. The exploration and production segment are engaged in the exploration, development, production and acquisition of oil and natural gas resources in the United States and is focused primarily on the oil and liquids-rich portion of the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring plays in the Delaware Basin in Southeast New Mexico and West Texas. The midstream segment conducts midstream operations in support of the Companyâs exploration, development and production operations and provides natural gas processing, oil transportation services, oil, natural gas and produced water gathering services and produced water disposal services to third parties.