Houston headquartered Marathon Oil has agreed to sell all its operated producing properties in the US Gulf of Mexico and a tranche of non-operated interests for US$205 million.
The deal with an undisclosed buyer is said to be part of an ongoing move out of traditional exploration assets as the firm focuses on shale plays.
The move follows Marathon Oil being hit with an improvement notice by the UK's Health and Safety Executive after a hydrocarbon release from a 3in riser base gas lift riser inside the Brae Alpha installation in June this year. According to the HSE, Marathon didn't have in place adequate measures to carry out inspection of the riser and assure its integrity.
Under the latest sale, which follows Marathon selling its East Africa assets and, last year, its Norwegian business, it will divest its operated greater Ewing Bank area assets and some non-operated interests in other Gulf of Mexico fields. This includes producing interests in the Petronius and Neptune fields in the Gulf of Mexico.
The buyer will assume all future abandonment obligations for the acquired assets. Marathon says these assets represent a majority of the company's operated and non-operated producing properties in the Gulf of Mexico.
However, Marathon Oil will retain its interests in certain other producing assets and acreage in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as its interests in the Gunflint development and Shenandoah discovery.
Image: Marathon's Brae complex in the UK North Sea. Image from Marathon Oil.
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