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Marathon Oil

Marathon Oil Corporation is an American company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration incorporated in Ohio and headquartered at 990 Town and Country Boulevard in Houston, Texas. A direct descendant of Standard Oil, it also runs international gas operations focused on Equatorial Guinea, offshore Central Africa.

The company is ranked 534th on the Fortune 500 and 1900th on the Forbes Global 2000.

As of December 31, 2020, the company had 972 million barrels of oil equivalent (5.95×10⁹ GJ) of estimated proven reserves, of which 86% was in the United States and 14% was in Equatorial Guinea. The company's proved reserves consisted 52% of petroleum, 30% natural gas and 18% natural gas liquids. In 2020, the company sold 383 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (2,340,000 GJ) per day, of which 26% was from the Eagle Ford Group, 27% was from the Bakken formation, 17% was from Oklahoma, 7% was from the Northern Delaware Basin, 2% was from other U.S. sources, and 20% was from Equatorial Guinea.

History

Marathon Oil began as "The Ohio Oil Company" in 1887. In 1889, the company was purchased by John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil. It remained a part of Standard Oil until Standard Oil was broken up in 1911. In 1930, The Ohio Oil Company bought the Transcontinental Oil Company and established the "Marathon" brand name. In 1962, the company changed its name to "Marathon Oil Company".

In 1959, the Ohio Oil Company acquired Detroit based Aurora Oil Company which operated Speedway 79 stations and became an Ohio Oil subsidiary.

In 1962, the Speedway 79 and Marathon stations were consolidated under the Marathon name and the Ohio Oil Company is renamed Marathon Oil Company.

In 1981, Mobil made a hostile takeover offer to buy the company. However, the board of Marathon Oil rejected the offer and instead sold the company to United States Steel. A legal battle ensued thereafter.

In 1990, the headquarters was moved to Houston, Texas, but the company's refining subsidiary maintained its headquarters in Findlay, Ohio.

In 1984, Marathon purchased the U.S. unit of Husky Energy for $505 million.

In 1998, Marathon and Ashland Global contributed their refining operations to Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC (MAP), now Marathon Petroleum.

In 2001, USX, the holding company that owned United States Steel and Marathon, spun off the steel business and, in 2002, USX renamed itself Marathon Oil Corporation.

In 2003, Marathon sold its Canadian operations to Husky Energy.

In 2003, the company sold its interest in the Yates Oil Field to Kinder Morgan for $225 million.

In 2007, Marathon acquired Western Oil Sands for $6.6 billion and gained ownership of its 20% stake in the Athabasca oil sands in northern Alberta, Canada and other assets in the midwestern United States.

In 2011, Marathon completed the corporate spin-off of Marathon Petroleum, distributing a 100% interest to its shareholders.

In June 2013, Marathon sold its Angolan oil and gas field to Sinopec for $1.52 billion.

In September 2013, Marathon sold a 10% stake in an oil and gas field offshore Angola for $590 million to Sonangol Group.

In October 2014, the company sold its business in Norway to Det Norske Oljeselskap ASA for $2.1 billion.

In 2017, it sold its interests in the Athabasca oil sands for $2.5 billion and acquired assets in the Permian Basin for $1.2 billion.

In March 2018, it sold its assets in Libya for $450 million to TotalEnergies SE.

In 2020, the company derived 13% of its revenues from sales to Marathon Petroleum and 12% of its revenues from sales to Koch Industries.

Corporate philanthropy

Since 2003, Marathon Oil and its partners Noble Energy and AMPCO, have invested in the Bioko Island Malaria Control Project (BIMCP) in Equatorial Guinea. The project includes distribution of insecticide nets, indoor residual spraying and larval source management, preventive therapy for pregnant women and malaria case management, and investment in a possible malaria vaccine. The project has resulted in a 63% reduction in malaria parasite prevalence and a 63% reduction in the mortality rate and 97% reduction in severe anemia in children under 5 years old.

Criticism

Environmental record

According to a 2017 study, the company was responsible for 0.19% of global industrial greenhouse gas emissions from 1988 to 2015.

Dealings in Equatorial Guinea

The company was investigated for payments made to Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, the president of Equatorial Guinea. The SEC completed its investigation in 2009 and did not recommend any enforcement action in the matter.