Marathon Oil Cites 'Lower Risk, Higher Return' In Wyoming Asset Sale

Marathon Oil Corporation MRO announced after Monday's market close it has signed agreements for the sale of some of its non-core assets.

Marathon Oil said it will divest all of its Wyoming upstream and midstream assets for $870 million. The upstream properties averaged 16,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day during the first quarter of 2016. The asset sale also consists of the Red Butte pipeline, a 570-mile pipeline that is the only export line in the region.

In a separate transaction, Marathon Oil will sell its 10 percent working interest in the Shenandoah discovery in the Gulf of Mexico, operating natural gas assets in the Piceance basin and several undeveloped acreage in West Texas for a combined total of around $80 million.

"Since August 2015, we have now announced or closed non-core asset sales of approximately $1.3 billion, surpassing our targeted range of $750 million to $1 billion," said Marathon Oil president and CEO Lee Tillman. "Ongoing portfolio management continues to drive the simplification and concentration of our portfolio to lower risk, higher return U.S. resource plays and support our 2016 objective of balance sheet protection."

Marathon Oil's stock showed no trades early Tuesday morning and lost about 1 percent on Monday to close at $11.67.