March 2011 / Issue 51 co, Norway, U.S. conventional oil plays, Equatorial Guinea and elsewhere. With a continued emphasis on high operational reliability, Marathon will implement a disciplined investment plan and competitive cost structure for its base assets. The increase in spending for base E&P assets, compared to 2010, is primarily due to additional activity on conventional oil assets in Norway and the U.S. Besides, Approximately $1.9 billion of the capital spending budgets is allocated to E&P growth projects. Of that, nearly $1 billion is concentrated on three key North America liquids-rich resource plays: North Dakota’s Bakken play, the Eagle Ford Shale play in Texas, and the Anadarko Woodford Shale play in Oklahoma. Marathon plans to spend $465 million selectively investing in a controlled high-impact exploration program. Activity will include conducting seismic surveys and drilling 10 - 15 high-potential prospects this year across the deep water Gulf of Mexico, Indonesia, the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and Poland. Marathon estimates 2011 production available for sale will be between 380,000 and 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, excluding the effect of any future acquisitions, dispositions or exploration suc-
cess, essentially flat with 2010 volumes. Increases in the Company’s U.S. unconventional production is expected to largely offset natural declines elsewhere, largely in North Sea assets.
ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips has approved a 2011 capital program of $13.5 billion, representing a significant increase in Exploration and Production expenditures. Approximately $12.0 billion of the capital programs will be in support of E&P, while the Refining and Marketing (R&M) segment represents about 9% of this year’s spending. The 2011 capital program is consistent with the company’s plan to enhance returns on equity through shifting capital to higher returning investments, maintaining capital discipline and funding growth in shareholder distributions. This capital budget reflects the company’s emphasis on building the upstream business. In Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa, the E&P capital program is expected to total about $6.0 billion. Within the Asia Pacific region, the company’s funds will be used for further development of the coaled methane-to-LNG project associated with the Australia Pacific LNG joint venture, as well as for the development of new fields offshore Malaysia, Indonesia, and
offshore Vietnam. In the North Sea region, spending is planned for existing and new opportunities in the Greater Ekofisk Area, the U.K Fields, various Southern North Sea assets, and the development of the Jasmine and Clair Ridge projects. As for the capital for the African region is expected to be in support of onshore developments in Nigeria, Algeria and Libya. Spending in the Caspian Sea region is planned to be in support of continued development of the Kashagan Field.
Noble Energy
Noble announced its estimated 2011 capital program to count for approximately $2.7 billion, with investment split relatively between the U.S. and international operations. Approximately, 42% of the program is directed towards major project investments, 18% for exploration and appraisal activities, and the remaining 40% for ongoing maintenance and near-term growth opportunities. Major project investments include the company’s development activities in the horizontal Niobrara, deep water Gulf of Mexico, West Africa, and Eastern Mediterranean. The company anticipates investing $875 million in the Central DJ basin. In addition to the existing vertical well program in Wattenberg, Noble Energy intends to expand horizontal Niobrara drilling activ-
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ity, targeting around 70 horizontal wells in 2011. In the deep water Gulf of Mexico, the company’s $275 million program is focused on progressing near-term oil developments at Galapagos and Raton South. It also includes three exploration wells with expectations to resume drilling at the moratorium-suspended Santiago and Deep Blue wells, along with a first appraisal well at the Gunflint discovery. Noble Energy’s core international programs in West Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean represent approximately $575 million and $650 million, respectively. In West Africa, the company plans to advance liquid developments at Aseng and Alen (Equatorial Guinea, gas/condensate) and to resume oil exploration with two to three tests in the region. A large portion of the Eastern Mediterranean expenditures will be the development of the Tamar natural gas field, offshore Israel. Exploration plans in the Eastern Mediterranean include three to four wells, which will include at least one appraisal well at the Leviathan discovery. The remainder of the capital program is set aside for other opportunities onshore in the United States, as well as in the North Sea and China. Excluded from the capital program is $70 million of noncash capital to be accrued for the Aseng FPSO capital lease.