Bio Details

Mr. Passauer joined Matador Resources in January 2012 as a Drilling Engineer. In his initial role at Matador, he managed drilling rigs in the Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk plays. In 2013, he was part of Matador’s transition to the Delaware basin. In January 2017, he was promoted to Area Drilling Manager. In July 2018 he was promoted to Vice President of Drilling and then to Senior Vice President of Drilling in April 2022. He also had the opportunity to work alongside management in creating the MAXCOM team, including overseeing the technology and layout components of the MAXCOM room. Mr. Passauer was promoted to his current role of Executive Vice President—Drilling in October 2023.

Prior to joining Matador, Mr. Passauer was an Advanced Services Engineer with Schlumberger, working in-house with Exco Resources in their drilling group. While at Exco, he partnered with a team to create an innovative horizontal drill bit design which optimized the most important portion of a horizontal well. This unique bit design won an innovation award from British Gas, and he was honored to receive that award in London. He also co-authored an associated article that was published in the Oilfield Technology magazine. Prior to that, Mr. Passauer worked for Smith International in-house with Samson in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  While at Samson, Schlumberger acquired Smith and he ended up staying on with Schlumberger for over two years. He began his career in the oil and gas business in Midland, TX, spending two years in a field role with Smith. This role with Smith gave him valuable field experience as he was able to visit a wide array of drilling rigs throughout the Delaware and Midland basins. 

Mr. Passauer graduated from Baylor University in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in mathematics. He is an active member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the American Association of Drilling Engineers.