By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Apr. 7 -- Marubeni Denver Julesburg LLC, a subsidiary of Marubeni Corp., agreed to acquire a 30% working interest in Marathon Oil Corp.’s Niobrara shale play within the DJ basin of southeast Wyoming and northern Colorado.
Terms call for Marubeni to pay $270 million for a 30% stake in Marathon's 180,000 net acres. Closing is expected by Apr. 28, Marathon said.
Dave Roberts, Marathon’s executive vice-president of upstream, said the company is targeting unconventional, oil-focused US resource plays “that provide low-risk, scalable growth opportunities.” He said, “It also allows us to apply expertise developed over the past several years in other unconventional shale plays such as the Bakken formation in North Dakota."
Marathon began leasing acreage in the DJ basin in 2010, and it expects to participate in 8-12 gross exploration wells by yearend. Marathon will operate the jointly owned leasehold.