SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Interim Financial Statements, Basis of Presentation, Consolidation and Significant Estimates

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of Matador and its subsidiaries have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) but do not include all of the information and footnotes required by generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for complete financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 filed with the SEC (the “Annual Report”). All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. In management’s opinion, these interim unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include all adjustments of a normal recurring nature necessary for a fair presentation of the Company’s consolidated financial position as of September 30, 2014, consolidated results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, consolidated changes in shareholders’ equity for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and consolidated cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013. Amounts as of December 31, 2013 are derived from the audited consolidated financial statements in the Annual Report.

Accounting measurements at interim dates inherently involve greater reliance on estimates than at year end and the results for the interim periods shown in this report are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the full year due in part to volatility in oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids prices, global economic and financial market conditions, interest rates, access to sources of liquidity, estimates of reserves, drilling risks, geological risks, transportation restrictions, oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids supply and demand, market competition and interruptions of production.

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. These estimates and assumptions may also affect disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. The Company’s interim unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements are based on a number of significant estimates, including accruals for oil and natural gas revenues, accrued assets and liabilities primarily related to oil and natural gas operations, stock-based compensation, valuation of derivative instruments and oil and natural gas reserves. The estimates of oil and natural gas reserves quantities and future net cash flows are the basis for the calculations of depletion and impairment of oil and natural gas properties, as well as estimates of asset retirement obligations and certain tax accruals. While the Company believes its estimates are reasonable, changes in facts and assumptions or the discovery of new information may result in revised estimates. Actual results could differ from these estimates.

Property and Equipment

The Company uses the full-cost method of accounting for its investments in oil and natural gas properties. Under this method of accounting, all costs associated with the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and natural gas properties and reserves, including unproved and unevaluated property costs, are capitalized as incurred and accumulated in a single cost center representing the Company’s activities, which are undertaken exclusively in the United States. Such costs include lease acquisition costs, geological and geophysical expenditures, lease rentals on undeveloped properties, costs of drilling both productive and non-productive wells, capitalized interest on qualifying projects and certain general and administrative expenses directly related to acquisition, exploration and development activities, but do not include any costs related to production, selling or general corporate administrative activities. The Company capitalized approximately $1.5 million and $0.9 million of its general and administrative costs for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The Company capitalized approximately $0.8 million and $0.4 million of its interest expense for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The Company capitalized approximately $4.3 million and $2.3 million of its general and administrative costs for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively. The Company capitalized approximately $2.2 million and $1.2 million of its interest expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

The net capitalized costs of oil and natural gas properties are limited to the lower of unamortized costs less related deferred income taxes or the cost center “ceiling.” The cost center ceiling is defined as the sum of:

(a) the present value, discounted at 10%, of future net revenues of proved oil and natural gas reserves, reduced by the estimated costs of developing these reserves, plus

(b) unproved and unevaluated property costs not being amortized, plus

(c) the lower of cost or estimated fair value of unproved and unevaluated properties included in the costs being amortized, if any, less

(d) income tax effects related to the properties involved.

Any excess of the Company’s net capitalized costs above the cost center ceiling as described above is charged to operations as a full-cost ceiling impairment. The need for a full-cost ceiling impairment is required to be assessed on a quarterly basis. The fair value of the Company’s derivative instruments is not included in the ceiling test computation as the Company does not designate these instruments as hedge instruments for accounting purposes.

The estimated present value of after-tax future net cash flows from proved oil and natural gas reserves is highly dependent upon the quantities of proved reserves, the estimation of which requires substantial judgment. The associated commodity prices and applicable discount rate used in these estimates are in accordance with guidelines established by the SEC. Under these guidelines, oil and natural gas reserves are estimated using then-current operating and economic conditions, with no provision for price and cost escalations in future periods except by contractual arrangements. Future net revenues are calculated using prices that represent the arithmetic averages of first-day-of-the-month oil and natural gas prices for the previous 12-month period and dictate that a 10% discount factor be used. For the period from October 2013 through September 2014, these average oil and natural gas prices were $95.56 per barrel (“Bbl”) and $4.236 per million British thermal units (“MMBtu”), respectively. For the period from October 2012 through September 2013, these average oil and natural gas prices were $91.69 per Bbl and $3.605 per MMBtu, respectively. In estimating the present value of after-tax future net cash flows from proved oil and natural gas reserves, the average oil prices were adjusted by property for quality, transportation and marketing fees and regional price differentials, and the average natural gas prices were adjusted by property for energy content, transportation and marketing fees and regional price differentials. At September 30, 2014 and 2013, the Company’s oil and natural gas reserves estimates were prepared by the Company’s engineering staff in accordance with guidelines established by the SEC and then audited for their reasonableness and conformance with SEC guidelines by Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc., independent reservoir engineers.

Using the average commodity prices, as adjusted, to determine the Company’s estimated proved oil and natural gas reserves at September 30, 2014, the Company’s net capitalized costs less related deferred income taxes did not exceed the full-cost ceiling. As a result, the Company recorded no impairment to its net capitalized costs for the three months ended September 30, 2014. Using the average commodity prices, as adjusted, to determine the Company’s estimated proved oil and natural gas reserves at September 30, 2013, the Company’s net capitalized costs less related deferred income taxes did not exceed the full-cost ceiling. As a result, the Company recorded no impairment to its net capitalized costs for the three months ended September 30, 2013. At March 31, 2013, the Company’s net capitalized costs less related deferred income taxes exceeded the full-cost ceiling by $13.7 million. The Company recorded an impairment charge of $21.2 million to its net capitalized costs and a deferred income tax credit of $7.5 million related to the full-cost ceiling limitation at March 31, 2013. These charges are reflected in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statement of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2013.

As a non-cash item, the full-cost ceiling impairment impacts the accumulated depletion and the net carrying value of the Company’s assets on its consolidated balance sheet, as well as the corresponding consolidated shareholders’ equity, but it has no impact on the Company’s consolidated net cash flows as reported. Changes in oil and natural gas production rates, oil and natural gas prices, reserves estimates, future development costs and other factors will determine the Company’s actual ceiling test computation and impairment analyses in future periods.

Capitalized costs of oil and natural gas properties are amortized using the unit-of-production method based upon production and estimates of proved reserves quantities. Unproved and unevaluated property costs are excluded from the amortization base used to determine depletion. Unproved and unevaluated properties are assessed for possible impairment on a periodic basis based upon changes in operating or economic conditions. This assessment includes consideration of the following factors, among others: the assignment of proved reserves, geological and geophysical evaluations, intent to drill, remaining lease term and drilling activity and results. Upon impairment, the costs of the unproved and unevaluated properties are immediately included in the amortization base. Exploratory dry holes are included in the amortization base immediately upon determination that the well is not productive.

Earnings (Loss) Per Common Share

The Company reports basic earnings (loss) per common share, which excludes the effect of potentially dilutive securities, and diluted earnings per common share, which includes the effect of all potentially dilutive securities, unless their impact is anti-dilutive.

The following table sets forth the computation of diluted weighted average common shares outstanding for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013 (in thousands).



	Three Months Ended September 30,		Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2014	2013	2014	2013
Weighted average common shares outstanding
Basic	73,341	58,016	69,185	55,766
Dilutive effect of options and restricted stock units	687	136	694	123
Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding	74,028	58,152	69,879	55,889

Fair Value Measurements

The Company measures and reports certain assets and liabilities on a fair value basis. Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (exit price). The Company follows Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) guidance establishing a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation methods used to measure fair value.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Revenue from Contracts with Customers. In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which specifies how and when to recognize revenue. This standard requires expanded disclosures surrounding revenue recognition and is intended to improve, and converge with international standards, the financial reporting requirements for revenue from contracts with customers. ASU 2014-09 will become effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, i.e., in the Company’s first fiscal quarter of 2017. The Company is currently evaluating the impact, if any, of the adoption of this ASU on its consolidated financial statements.