Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	9 Months Ended
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	Sep. 30, 2019
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 the Company 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, 2018 filed with the SEC on March 1, 2019 (the “Annual Report”). The Company consolidates certain subsidiaries and joint ventures that are less than wholly-owned and are not involved in oil and natural gas exploration, including San Mateo, 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”), Consolidation (Topic 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 normal, recurring adjustments that are necessary for a fair presentation of the Company’s interim unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2019. Amounts as of December 31, 2018 are derived from the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements included in the Annual Report. Certain reclassifications have been made to the December 31, 2018 financial statement amounts in order to conform them to the September 30, 2019 presentations. 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 oil and natural gas revenues, accrued assets and liabilities, stock-based compensation, valuation of derivative instruments, deferred tax assets and liabilities 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.
Change in Accounting Principles and Recent Accounting Pronouncements	Change in Accounting Principles Leases. During the first quarter of 2019, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) and the amendments provided for in ASU 2018-11, Leases (Topic 842), which require the recognition of lease assets and lease liabilities by lessees for those leases classified as operating leases under previous U.S. GAAP using a modified retrospective approach. The modified retrospective approach includes a number of optional practical expedients that the Company chose to apply. These practical expedients relate to (i) the identification and classification of leases that commenced before the effective date, (ii) the treatment of initial direct costs for leases that commenced before the effective date, (iii) the ability to use hindsight in evaluating lessee options to extend or terminate a lease or to purchase the underlying asset and (iv) the ability to initially apply the new lease standard at the adoption date. During the first quarter of 2019, the Company also adopted ASU 2018-01, Leases (Topic 842), which is a land easement practical expedient, and, as a result, the Company began evaluating land easements that are entered into or modified after December 31, 2018. See Note 3 for additional disclosures related to leases. The adoption of these ASUs resulted in the Company recording in the condensed consolidated balance sheet beginning January 1, 2019 certain of the Company’s compressor leases, drilling rig leases and office leases, which were previously considered operating leases and not reported on the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets. As such, upon adoption, the Company recorded (i) long-term right of use assets of $62.3 million, which are included in “Other assets” and “Other property and equipment,” and (ii) net right of use liabilities of $62.3 million, which are included in “Other current liabilities” and “Other long-term liabilities.” There was no cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of accumulated deficit as a result of the adoption of these ASUs. Stock Compensation. During the first quarter of 2019, the Company also adopted ASU 2018-07, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which extends the scope of Topic 718 to include share-based payment transactions related to the acquisition of goods and services from nonemployees. Previously, the Company accounted for stock-based awards to special advisors and contractors under ASC 505-50 as liability instruments, and the fair value of the awards was recalculated each reporting period. Upon adoption, all such awards are now measured at fair value on the grant date and the resulting expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the awards’ vesting periods. The transitional guidance requires entities to remeasure all unvested awards that are being accounted for under ASC 505-50 as liability instruments as of the beginning of the year in which this ASU is adopted. Adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements. Revenues The following table summarizes the Company’s total revenues and revenues from contracts with customers on a disaggregated basis for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 (in thousands).
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 that 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. For both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the cost center ceiling was higher than the capitalized costs of oil and natural gas properties, and, as a result, no impairment charge was necessary.
Earnings (Loss) Per Common Share	Earnings Per Common Share The Company reports basic earnings attributable to Matador shareholders per common share, which excludes the effect of potentially dilutive securities, and diluted earnings attributable to Matador shareholders per common share, which includes the effect of all potentially dilutive securities unless their impact is anti-dilutive.