Marathon Oil Sets $5.2bn Budget for 2011

Marathon Oil Corporation has announced its $5.26bn capital, investment and exploration budget for 2011.

From the total capital, $3.7bn will be spent on upstream segments and $1.2bn on downstream segments.

The upstream programme includes spending $1.3bn on base assets, including $1bn on E&P, $300m on Oil Sands Mining and Integrated Gas, $1.9bn on growth assets such as liquids resource plays in the US and $465m on impact exploration.

The downstream programme includes the Detroit Heavy Oil Upgrading Project, which the company expects to progress considerably through the year.

Marathon president and CEO Clarence Cazalot said that the firm will continue to increase the percentage of Marathon-operated projects within its portfolio.

“Our base and growth assets provide a solid platform for profitable returns, and our impact exploration prospects in the Gulf of Mexico, Indonesia, Iraqi Kurdistan Region and Poland provide further upside potential,” Cazalot said.