Marathon Ends In Nova Scotia

Marathon Oil Company has made a gas discovery at the Annapolis G-24 deepwater wildcat well offshore Nova Scotia. The Annapolis G-24 well is located on Exploration License 2377, 215 miles south of Halifax in 5,500 feet of water. The well encountered approximately 100 feet of net gas pay over several zones. The well will be temporarily abandoned, allowing for re-entry at a later date.

Commenting on the discovery, Marathon senior vice president of Worldwide Exploration, Phil Behrman, said, "This discovery of gas is an important first step in the developing deepwater play offshore Nova Scotia. While the results of the Annapolis well are promising, further activities will be required to determine the commerciality of the discovery. Plans are being developed for additional seismic and drilling in 2003."

The B-24 well, the first on the Annapolis Prospect, was suspended on March 24 after experiencing a well control incident caused by an influx of gas at a well depth of 11,469 feet. Following a detailed analysis of this event and the condition of the well, Marathon and its partners in the well elected to plug and abandon the B-24 well for mechanical reasons. A replacement well, the Annapolis G-24, was spud on April 18, adjacent to the B-24 well, and drilled to a final total depth of 20,282 feet.

Marathon holds a 30-percent interest in the Annapolis prospect and serves as operator. The remaining interests are held by EnCana Corporation (26 percent), Norsk Hydro Canada Oil and Gas Inc. (25 percent), and Murphy Oil Company Limited (19 percent). In addition, Marathon is operator of the Empire and Cortland leases with a 50-percent and 75-percent interest, respectively. The Empire and Cortland leases are both adjacent to Annapolis. Marathon has identified 10 prospects/leads in this trend on these three leases.

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