Marathon Oil Announces LNG Sales Agreement for Alba Gas in E.G.

Rhea-AI Summary

Marathon Oil signs LNG sales agreement with Glencore Energy UK Ltd, providing significant exposure to the European LNG market starting Jan 2024. Company expects over $300 million EBITDA increase next year across its E.G. integrated gas business.

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• Marathon Oil signs five-year LNG sales agreement with Glencore Energy UK Ltd for Alba Field natural gas, providing exposure to European LNG market
• Company expects over $300 million EBITDA increase next year across its E.G. integrated gas business

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• None.

Incremental European LNG Exposure to Drive Significant E.G. Financial Uplift Starting Jan 2024

HOUSTON, Oct. 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) announced that through its wholly-owned subsidiaries it has entered into a five-year firm LNG sales agreement with Glencore Energy UK Ltd, a subsidiary of Glencore PLC (LSE: GLEN), for a portion of its equity natural gas produced from the Alba Field (Alba Unit, MRO 64% working interest) in Equatorial Guinea (E.G.), effective Jan. 1, 2024. The pricing structure for the LNG sales agreement is linked to the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) index, less a fixed transportation fee, providing Marathon Oil with significant incremental exposure to the European LNG market.

Separately, due to the expected arbitrage between LNG and methanol pricing, Marathon Oil announced it expects to optimize its E.G. integrated gas operations in 2024 by redirecting a portion of Alba Unit natural gas from the local methanol facility (MRO 45% working interest) to the LNG facility (MRO 56% working interest).

"I'm excited to announce this new sales agreement linked to the European LNG market, signaling the conclusion of the legacy Henry Hub linked contract," said chairman, president, and CEO Lee Tillman. "The timing of this new sales agreement, EG LNG's track record of reliable operations, and the plant's proximity to Europe resulted in tremendous demand and an extremely competitive process. At recent forward curve pricing, we expect to realize an approximate year-on-year EBITDA increase of over $300 million next year across our E.G. integrated gas business, reflecting our differentiated and increasing exposure to the global LNG market. This success positions us strongly for the next phase of opportunities to advance the E.G. Gas Mega Hub, including up to two infill development wells in the Alba Unit and the potential tie-in of the third-party Aseng gas cap monetization."

Alex Sanna, Head of Oil and Gas Marketing, Glencore PLC, said: "We are delighted to further expand our cooperation with Marathon Oil. This deal reconfirms our commitment to the growth and diversification of our LNG portfolio as we continue to support producers and end users as a reliable and responsible off-taker and supplier."

About Marathon Oil
Marathon Oil (NYSE: MRO) is an independent oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) company focused on four of the most competitive resource plays in the U.S. - Eagle Ford, Texas; Bakken, North Dakota; STACK and SCOOP in Oklahoma and Permian in New Mexico and Texas, complemented by a world-class integrated gas business in Equatorial Guinea. The Company's Framework for Success is founded in a strong balance sheet, ESG excellence and the competitive advantages of a high-quality multi-basin portfolio. For more information, please visit www.marathonoil.com.

About Glencore 
Glencore is one of the world's largest global diversified natural resource companies and a major producer and marketer of more than 60 commodities that advance everyday life. Through a network of assets, customers and suppliers that spans the globe, we produce, process, recycle, source, market and distribute the commodities that support decarbonisation while meeting the energy needs of today.

With around 140,000 employees and contractors and a strong footprint in over 35 countries in both established and emerging regions for natural resources, our marketing and industrial activities are supported by a global network of more than 40 offices.

Glencore's customers are industrial consumers, such as those in the automotive, steel, power generation, battery manufacturing and oil sectors. We also provide financing, logistics and other services to producers and consumers of commodities.

www.glencore.com

Forward-looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, including without limitation statements regarding: future optimization of E.G. integrated gas operations; expected EBITDA uplift across our E.G. integrated gas business; future exposure to the global LNG market; advancement of the Gas Mega Hub, including future development activity in the Alba Unit and potential future tie-in of the third party Aseng gas cap blowdown, and other statements regarding management's plans and objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "future," "guidance," "intend," "may," "outlook," "plan," "positioned," "project," "seek," "should," "target," "will," "would," or similar words may be used to identify forward-looking statements; however, the absence of these words does not mean that the statements are not forward-looking. While Marathon Oil believes its assumptions concerning future events are reasonable, a number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, including, but not limited to: conditions in the oil and gas industry, including supply/demand levels for crude oil and condensate, NGLs and natural gas and the resulting impact on price; changes in expected reserve or production levels; changes in political or economic conditions in the U.S. and Equatorial Guinea, including changes in foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates, inflation rates and global and domestic market conditions; actions taken by the members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia affecting the production and pricing of crude oil and other global and domestic political, economic or diplomatic developments; capital available for exploration and development; risks related to Marathon Oil's hedging activities; voluntary or involuntary curtailments, delays or cancellations of certain drilling activities; well production timing; liabilities or corrective actions resulting from litigation, other proceedings and investigations or alleged violations of law or permits; drilling and operating risks; lack of, or disruption in, access to storage capacity, pipelines or other transportation methods; availability of drilling rigs, materials and labor, including the costs associated therewith; difficulty in obtaining necessary approvals and permits; the availability, cost, terms and timing of issuance or execution of, competition for, and challenges to, mineral licenses and leases and governmental and other permits and rights-of-way, and our ability to retain mineral licenses and leases; non-performance by third parties of contractual or legal obligations, including due to bankruptcy; administrative impediments or unexpected events that may impact dividends or other distributions, or the timing thereof, from our equity method investees; changes in our credit ratings; hazards such as weather conditions, a health pandemic (including COVID-19), acts of war or terrorist acts and the government or military response thereto; the impacts of supply chain disruptions that began during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting inflationary environment; security threats, including cybersecurity threats and disruptions to our business and operations from breaches of our information technology systems, or breaches of the information technology systems, facilities and infrastructure of third parties with which we transact business; changes in safety, health, environmental, tax and other regulations, requirements or initiatives, including initiatives addressing the impact of global climate change, air emissions, or water management; our ability to achieve, reach or otherwise meet initiatives, plans, or ambitions with respect to ESG matters; our ability to pay dividends and make share repurchases; our ability to secure increased exposure to the global LNG market; impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and our assumptions relating thereto; the risk that the Ensign assets do not perform consistent with our expectations, including with respect to future production or drilling inventory; other geological, operating and economic considerations; and the risk factors, forward-looking statements and challenges and uncertainties described in Marathon Oil's 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other public filings and press releases, available at https://ir.marathonoil.com/. Except as required by law, Marathon Oil undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Media Relations Contact:
Karina Brooks: 713-296-2191

Investor Relations Contacts:
Guy Baber: 713-296-1892
John Reid: 713-296-4380

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SOURCE Marathon Oil Corporation

FAQ

What is the new sales agreement between Marathon Oil and Glencore Energy UK Ltd about?

The sales agreement is for a portion of Marathon Oil's equity natural gas produced from the Alba Field in Equatorial Guinea and is linked to the European LNG market.

How will the pricing structure for the LNG sales agreement be determined?

The pricing structure is linked to the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) index, less a fixed transportation fee.

What is Marathon Oil's expected EBITDA increase next year?

The company expects an approximate year-on-year EBITDA increase of over $300 million next year across its E.G. integrated gas business.