Marathon To Drill Off Indonesia

Houston-based integrated oil major Marathon Oil Corporation  said that it will start drilling operations on the Pasang Kayu oil and gas block in Indonesia in the second quarter of 2010.
 
Pasang Kayu is a potential oil and gas block holding approximately 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE). Though basically an offshore block, it includes some onshore areas as well. This block ranges from onshore Sulawesi to water depths of up to 7,200 feet and covers 1.2 million acres.
 
Marathon has been fairly active on the upstream front. Its strong inventory of development projects provides for a visible production growth over the coming years. We believe that management's guidance for annual production growth of 7% through 2012 is on the conservative side.
 
For a better management of its upstream portfolio, the company recently sold its stake in the offshore Angola block. Through the divestment, Marathon aims to redeploy capital to explore other growth regions.
 
Apart from Indonesia, the company's upstream activities are located in 11 countries, including the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Norway, Equatorial Guinea, Angola and Russia.
 
Marathon enjoys the diversification benefits afforded by an integrated business model. In terms of company-specific fundamentals, Marathon's upstream asset base, particularly on the international front, is one of the most robust in the group.