Matador exits Eagle Ford to focus on Delaware Basin amid “turbulent times”

Matador Resources announced on April 4 that it had sold its remaining two acreage positions in the Eagle Ford shale. Proceeds from the sales amounted to over $30mn and were received over the last two quarters, the company said.

Despite not being particularly sizeable, the deal illustrates Matador’s direction in recent years. The company has increasingly focused its attention on the Permian Basin’s Delaware sub-basin, where it has been building up its holdings via bolt-on acquisitions. Meanwhile, it has shed non-core assets, including its 19% interest in Piñon Midstream, which it sold in October 2024.

“The Eagle Ford shale has been a productive asset for Matador and was the stepping stone for Matador as it gained experience and built its acreage position in the Delaware Basin,” stated Matador’s founder, chairman and CEO, Joseph Foran. “Matador is excited to continue its primary focus on developing its high-quality acreage in the northern Delaware Basin, which Matador believes is recognised as the most prolific basin in the United States and where Matador owns approximately 200,000 net acres [809 square km], approximately 80% of which is held by production.”

The properties that were sold were located in La Salle, Karnes and Atascosa counties in South Texas. According to the announcement, Matador applied a portion of its cash flows and the proceeds from the sale of its Eagle Ford assets to reduce the borrowings under its credit facility. Foran said the company had repaid $180mn of its borrowings under its credit facility during the first quarter of 2025, ending the quarter with $405mn outstanding under this credit facility. He added that Matador had finished the first quarter in the strongest financial position in its history, with around $1.8bn in liquidity.

However, he also described the current period as “volatile” and said Matador had entered into additional oil hedges during the first quarter of 2025, as well as taking other precautionary actions in preparation for “turbulent times”.

While US President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on new tariffs for most countries on April 9, it appeared that recently imposed steel tariffs were set to remain in place. And indeed Matador said in its announcement that it expected steel prices for goods such as casing, valves and surface equipment to rise because of the tariffs. The company said it had already secured inventory for the majority of its 2025 drilling programme in an effort to protect its financial position.

However, it does not expect any recent tariffs to affect its well costs until the second half of the year.