Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) reports its Shenandoah-2 well in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico has encountered more than 1,000 net feet of oil pay in multiple high-quality Lower Tertiary-aged reservoirs.

The Shenandoah-2 well, located in Walker Ridge block 51, was drilled to a total depth of 31,405 feet in 5,800 feet of water, more than 1 mile southwest and 1,700 feet structurally down-dip from the Shenandoah-1 discovery. Similar to the initial Shenandoah discovery well, log and pressure data from the Shenandoah-2 well indicate excellent-quality reservoir and fluid properties. The well was drilled to test the down-dip extent of the accumulation, and the targeted sands were full to base with no oil-water contact.

The Shenandoah-1 discovery well was drilled in early 2009 on Walker Ridge Block 52 and encountered more than 300 net feet of Inboard Lower Tertiary oil pay.

The operator and partners are incorporating the information obtained from Shenandoah-2 into planning and anticipate further appraisal drilling to advance this potentially significant resource discovery.

Marathon Oil holds a 10% working interest in Shenandoah. Partners include Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) as operator (30% working interest), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) (30% working interest), Cobalt International Energy LP (NYSE: CIE) (20% working interest), and Venari Resources LLC (10% working interest).

Marathon Oil Corp. operates as an energy company worldwide. The company is headquartered in Houston.

Offshore