Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	3 Months Ended
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	Mar. 31, 2016
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Interim Financial Statements, Basis of Presentation, Consolidation and Significant Estimates	Interim Financial Statements, Basis of Presentation, Consolidation and Significant Estimates The interim 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, 2015 filed with the SEC (the “Annual Report”). The Company proportionately consolidates certain subsidiaries that are less-than-wholly-owned and the net income and equity attributable to the non-controlling interest in these subsidiaries have been reported separately as required by Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 810. The Company proportionately consolidates certain joint ventures that are less-than-wholly-owned and are involved in oil and natural gas exploration. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. In management’s opinion, these interim unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include all adjustments, consisting only of normal, recurring adjustments, which are necessary for a fair presentation of the Company’s interim unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as of March 31, 2016. Amounts as of December 31, 2015 are derived from the audited consolidated financial statements in the Annual Report. 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	Property and Equipment The Company uses the full-cost method of accounting for its investments in oil and natural gas properties. Under this method, the Company is required to perform a ceiling test each quarter which determines a limit, or ceiling, on the capitalized costs of oil and natural gas properties based primarily on the after-tax estimated future net cash flows from oil and natural gas properties using a 10% discount rate and the arithmetic average of first-day-of-the-month oil and natural gas prices for the prior 12-month period. Due primarily to declines in oil and natural gas prices, the capitalized costs of oil and natural gas properties exceeded the cost center ceiling, and as a result, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $80.5 million to its net capitalized costs at March 31, 2016. At March 31, 2015, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $67.1 million to its net capitalized costs. These charges are reflected in the Company’s interim unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. 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.
Earnings (Loss) Per Common Share	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.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements	Recent Accounting Pronouncements Revenue from Contracts with Customers. In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which specifies how and when to recognize revenue. In addition, 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, 2017 with early adoption permitted for periods beginning after December 15, 2016. Entities can transition to the standard either retrospectively to each period presented or as a cumulative-effect adjustment as of the date of adoption. The Company is currently evaluating the impact, if any, of the adoption of this ASU on its consolidated financial statements. Leases. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which requires the recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities by lessees for those leases classified as operating leases under previous U.S. GAAP. ASU 2016-02 will become effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 with early adoption permitted. Entities are required to recognize and measure leases at the beginning of the earliest period presented using a modified retrospective approach. The modified retrospective approach includes a number of optional practical expedients that entities may elect to apply. These practical expedients relate to the identification and classification of leases that commenced before the effective date, initial direct costs for leases that commenced before the effective date and the ability to use hindsight in evaluating lessee options to extend or terminate a lease or to purchase the underlying asset. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this ASU on its consolidated financial statements. Compensation - Stock Compensation. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718), which simplifies several aspects of the accounting for employee share-based payment transactions, including accounting for income tax, forfeitures, statutory tax withholding requirements, classifications of awards as either equity or liability and classification of taxes in the statement of cash flows. The amended guidance also requires an entity to record excess tax benefits and deficiencies in the income statement. The amended guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this ASU on its consolidated financial statements and plans to adopt this ASU in the second quarter of 2016.