Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) has sold part of its stake in two blocks in the
Kurdistan
region of
Iraq
to
Total S.A. (TOT, FP.FR) as the two companies look to better evaluate the
region's potential.
Total's subsidiaries have acquired 35% working interest in the two blocks, from
Marathon
subsidiary Marathon Oil KDV B.V. for an
undisclosed amount.
"This partnership combines the extensive exploration, drilling and
completion experience of Marathon Oil and Total to fully evaluate the potential
of these two blocks,"
Marathon
Oil
Global
Exploration
Vice President
Annell
R.
Bay
said.
Marathon
spun off its refining business last year to focus
its drilling efforts on unconventional
U.S.
oil
shales, which also include the Bakken Field in
North
Dakota
and Anadarko Woodford in
Oklahoma
.
Marathon
has inked a series of deals of late as the energy
company looks to expand its operations. Last week, it signed an agreement with
Africa Oil Corp. (AOIFF, AOI.V) to jointly develop two onshore exploration areas
in northwest
Kenya
,
underscoring
East Africa
's increasing attractiveness
for oil prospectors. And in May, the company agreed to acquire Paloma Partners
II LLC for around $750 million in cash, a move that helps expand operations in
the oil-rich Eagle Ford shale in
Texas
.
On Tuesday,
Marathon
revealed that it now has a
reduced working stake in the Harir and Safen blocks of 45%, while remaining
operator of the Harir block and exploration operator of the Safen block. A
subsidiary of Total will become the operator of any development of the Safen
block. The Kurdistan Regional Government continues to have a fully carried 20%
interest in each of the blocks.
The Harir block is about 705-square kilometers and the Safen block is about
424-square kilometers. Both blocks are located northeast of
Erbil
.
Marathon
also said a 2-D seismic program on both blocks is
ongoing and expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter of this
year. The first exploration well on the Harir block began drilling Monday and
will be exploring Mesozoic fractured carbonates with main reservoir objectives
in the Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic formations. The first exploration well
on the Safen block is planned for the first half of 2013.
In May,
Marathon
reported its first-quarter earnings fell from a
year-ago quarter that included contributions from its former refining business.
Shares of
Marathon
closed at $26.90 Monday and were inactive
premarket. The stock
is down 13% in the past 12 months.