Marathon Oil to divest US$950 million of non-core assets

Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) has announced that it has agreed to sell US$950 million worth of non-core assets, bringing the total to approximately US$1.3 billion since last year.

In the largest transaction, the company will divest all of its Wyoming upstream and midstream assets for US$870 million, excluding closing adjustments. The upstream properties, which comprised primarily of waterflood developments in the Big Horn and Wind River basins, averaged 16 500 bpd in Q1 2016. The assets sold also include the Red Butte pipeline, a 570 mile pipeline that is the only export line in the area. The effective date of this transaction is Jan. 1, 2016, and is expected to close mid-year 2016.

Marathon Oil has also signed agreements for the sale of its 10% working interest in the outside-operated Shenandoah discovery in the Gulf of Mexico, operated natural gas assets in the Piceance basin in Colorado, and certain undeveloped acreage in West Texas for a combined total of approximately US$80 million. "Since August 2015, we have now announced or closed non-core asset sales of approximately US$1.3 billion, surpassing our targeted range of US$750 million to US$1 billion," commented Marathon Oil president and CEO Lee Tillman. "Ongoing portfolio management continues to drive the simplification and concentration of our portfolio to lower risk, higher return US resource plays and support our 2016 objective of balance sheet protection."

Marathon Oil Corporation is a global exploration and production company. Based in Houston, Texas, the company had net proved reserves at the end of 2015 of 2.2 billion boe in North America, Europe and Africa. For more information, please visit the website at http://www.marathonoil.com.

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