Marathon Acquires Position in Four Exploration Blocks in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
HOUSTON, TX -- (Marketwire) -- 10/20/10 -- Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) announced today that it has acquired a position in four exploration blocks in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The Company has signed production sharing contracts (PSCs) for operatorship and an 80 percent ownership in two open blocks northeast of Erbil -- Harir and Safen. The Kurdistan Regional Government will hold a fully carried 20 percent interest. Additionally, Marathon has been assigned working interests (WI) in two blocks north-northwest of Erbil -- Atrush (20 percent WI) and Sarsang (25 percent WI).
Marathon is an integrated international energy company engaged in exploration and production; oil sands mining; integrated gas; and refining, marketing and transportation operations. Marathon, which is based in Houston, has principal operations in the United States, Angola, Canada, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, Libya, Norway, Poland and the United Kingdom. Marathon is the fourth largest United States-based integrated oil company and the nation's fifth largest refiner. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.marathon.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements concerning the possibility of a significant new resource base. These forward-looking statements may be affected by a number of factors or are based on a number of assumptions including, among others, pricing, supply and demand for petroleum products, amount of capital available for exploration and development, regulatory constraints, timing of commencing production from new wells, drilling rig availability, unforeseen hazards such as weather conditions, acts of war or terrorist acts and the governmental or military response thereto, and other geological, operating and economic considerations. In accordance with the 'safe harbor' provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Marathon Oil Corporation has included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, and in subsequent Forms 10-Q and 8-K, cautionary language identifying other important factors, though not necessarily all such factors, that could cause future outcomes to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.
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