(Bloomberg) -- Matador Resources Co. plans to pump more oil in 2024 than it originally expected, a sign that wells in the western section of the Permian Basin – the most prolific US oil field – are surprising drillers to the upside and bolstering national supply.
Through the first six months of the year Matador has already surpassed projections – its record average oil production in the second quarter was 3% better than the company’s expected average for that time frame, according to the company’s earnings report released Wednesday. Dallas-based Matador now plans to produce 93,500 to 96,500 barrels per day in 2024. The upper end of ts previous full-year projection range was 95,000 barrels per day.
The production boost for Matador, the first shale producer to report earnings this quarter, does not take into account its recent acquisition of assets in the region. Last month, Matador purchased $1.9 billion in neighboring Permian acreage from a portfolio company of EnCap Investments LP.
Matador executives on a Wednesday earnings conference call with analysts credited the better-than-expected well performance to drilling efficiency improvements such as crews spending less time drilling wells and hydraulic fracturing — known as fracking — more wells simultaneously.
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