Following an appraisal of its deepwater Droshky prospect in the Gulf of Mexico, Marathon Oil Corp. estimates the discovery holds mean recoverable resource of 80-90 MMboe. The Droshky discovery is located in 2,900 feet of water on Green Canyon Block 244, about 137 miles south-southwest of Venice, LA.

The appraisal process consisted of drilling a down dip sidetrack well and a lateral sidetrack well. The wells are about two miles south of the Troika Field Production System. The initial well was drilled to a total depth of 21,190 feet and encountered 250 feet of net oil pay. The down dip appraisal sidetrack encountered more than 600 feet of net oil pay, while the lateral sidetrack encountered 300 feet of net oil pay. All pay intervals are Upper Miocene in age.

“The Droshky discovery is a good example of using higher quality seismic to see the value of a deeper opportunity adjacent to salt,” said Philip G. Behrman, senior vice president of Worldwide Exploration.

Marathon expects to produce the field via subsea completions through the Troika system and Bullwinkle Platform, with terms already in place. The timing of initial production will be dependent upon delivery of key equipment (i.e., drilling rig and subsea equipment) and regulatory approvals, but could be as early as 2010.

Marathon holds a 100% working interest in the Droshky prospect and a 50% working interest in the Troika unit.

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