Marathon Announces Bravo-1 Exploration Well Results in Deepwater Indonesia

HOUSTON, TX -- (Marketwire) -- 12/13/10 --

HOUSTON, Dec. 13, 2010 - Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) announced
today
the results of the deepwater Bravo-1 well drilled in the northeastern
portion of
the Pasangkayu production sharing contract (PSC) area offshore the island
of
Sulawesi in the Makassar Strait, Indonesia. Marathon, through its wholly
owned
subsidiary Marathon International Petroleum Indonesia, is operator and
holds a
70 percent working interest in the Bravo-1 well.

The well was drilled in a water depth of approximately 3,200 feet and
reached a
total depth of 9,000 feet. Gas shows were recorded during drilling of the
objective reservoir interval; however, the analysis of log and pressure
data
indicates the reservoir to be water-wet. Both the thickness and quality of
the
reservoir encountered are encouraging and the well results confirm the pre-
drill
geologic model predictions.

'Bravo was a challenging, frontier exploration well,' said Annell Bay,
Marathon
senior vice president of Worldwide Exploration. 'Marathon continues to
evaluate
the data and will integrate the results into evaluation of the remaining
potential of the block.'

The Company intends to record a dry hole expense of approximately $60
million
for the Bravo-1 well in the fourth quarter of 2010.

The Romeo prospect, located on the north-central portion of the Pasangkayu
block
in a water depth of 6,200, is expected to be drilled during the first half
of
2011.

Marathon holds approximately 1.8 million net acres (3.3 million acres
gross)
across the Pasangkayu, Bone Bay and Kumawa blocks in Indonesia.

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,
Iraqi Kurdistan Region, 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
anticipated
future drilling activity. 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 crude oil, natural gas and petroleum
products, the 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.

This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of
Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that:

(i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and
other applicable laws; and

(ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and
originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Marathon Oil Corporation via Thomson Reuters ONE

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