Industrial Seismic Surveys Planning

Compiled by Acoustic Ecology Institute, Santa Fe, NM

Most recent revision: September 17, 2004

Contact: , 505-466-1879

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North Sea: (Talisman) New Fields Under Development

· August 28

· http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=15896

· Talisman Energy has announced the C$770 million (Pounds Sterling 320 million) development of the Tweedsmuir and Tweedsmuir South oilfields approximately 100 miles northeast of Aberdeen. Tweedsmuir was discovered in 1983, although it was the Talisman appraisal program in 2002 that discovered the main part of the field. Tweedsmuir South was discovered by Talisman in 2003 and appraised in 2004.

· Located in UKCS Block 21/1aN, Talisman estimates the fields contain gross reserves of 71 mmboe (87% liquids, 13% natural gas), which are classified as "probable" prior to development approval. It is expected that approximately half of these reserves will be transferred to the proven category in the 2004 reserves evaluation process with additional reserves transferred as the fields are developed and brought onstream

Norway: (Marathon) Development Plan for Alvheim Field (approval 4Q 2004)

· Rigzone august 04

· http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=15192

· Marathon Oil Corporation, through its wholly owned subsidiary Marathon Petroleum Norge AS, and its Alvheim project partners have submitted the plan for development and operation (PDO) of the Alvheim Field to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. Approval of the PDO is anticipated during the fourth quarter of this year and first Alvheim production is expected in early 2007.

Norway: Shell Hires WG to do survey

· August 04

· http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=15389

· Norske Shell has engaged Western Geco to acquire 3-D seismic data in PL 326 in the Vøring Basin offshore Norway, where the company recently was awarded operatorship in the 18th Round.

Norway: Statoil, WesternGeco establish industry's first long-term reservoir monitoring program

· http://os.pennnet.com/articles/article_display.cfm?Section=ONART&Category=TOPST&PUBLICATION_ID=9&ARTICLE_ID=210738

· 08/25/04

· WesternGeco has signed an agreement with Statoil ASA for the industry's first long-term seismic reservoir monitoring program. Through this agreement, WesternGeco becomes Statoil's preferred contractor for time-lapse seismic surveys over the Norne and Heidrun fields in the Norwegian Sea for five- and six-year periods, respectively.

· Future monitor surveys using Q-Technology on the Halten and Dønna Terrasse will follow the Q-on-Q surveys over the Norne field in 2001, 2003, and 2004, and the Heidrun field in 2001 and 2004.

· For these surveys, all Q-Marine seismic acquisition parameters will be identical to the previous surveys, giving the best possible time-lapse (4D) survey results to detect fluid movement for reservoir management and production. Q-Marine active streamer steering allows accurate positioning of streamers for reliable repeat surveys, the company says.

· "This agreement will enable both organizations to better plan for the surveys, which are crucial to Statoil's ongoing production of these fields," Roar Bekker, manager, WesternGeco Europe, says.

Norway-UK cooperation moving forward

· Good progress continues to be made with a UK-Norwegian treaty on cooperation in the North Sea, British energy minister Stephen Timms told a press conference at ONS today.

· http://www.ons.no/modules/module_123/templates/news_template_detail_1.asp?strParams=1%231%233%232%23%2D1%236&iCategoryId=2&iInfoId=217&iMenuRoot2Id=&strMenuHeader=&MId=&reload_coolmenus

· 8/25/2004 4:56:36 PM

· British energy minister Stephen Timms and Norway’s petroleum and energy minister, Thorhild Widvey at ONS 2004.

· Good progress continues to be made with a UK-Norwegian treaty on cooperation in the North Sea, British energy minister Stephen Timms told a press conference at ONS today.

· He said that discussions between officials on the mechanics of an agreement were pretty much on target as envisaged when a framework deal was signed by the two countries last year.

· Mr Timms met the press with Norway’s petroleum and energy minister, Thorhild Widvey, after they had addressed future challenges for their respective continental shelves at the ONS conference. Ms Widvey noted that good contacts have been maintained between the two ministries since an assessment of the benefits of cross-boundary collaboration was presented at ONS in 2002.

· "I hope we can continue to strengthen this cooperation in future," she said.

· Although work with the treaty is on track, Mr Timms admitted that there was a window of opportunity for securing some of the potential benefits from cross-border cooperation.

· He welcomed the good progress being made by the Ormen Lange field development and associated Langeled gas pipeline, which would be very important for UK gas supplies.

Denmark: new licensing commencing

· Offshore, August 2004

· http://os.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=CURRI&ARTICLE_ID=209845&VERSION_NUM=1&p=9

· Some time soon, DEA also expects to open Denmark's 6th licensing round, covering unlicensed areas west of 6° 15' eastern longitude. The agency sees best prospects for future finds in the productive chalk reservoirs in the Central Graben, but also in lesser-known plays in Jur-assic and Triassic sandstone. In its report, it cites Mærsk's attempt last year to prove hydrocarbons in the Triassic with the Olga-1X well south of the Kraka field.

Nova Scotia: Marathon to Plug and Abandon Deepwater Exploration Well Offshore

· PR Newswire (August 26, 2004)

· http://os.pennnet.com/news/display_news_story.cfm?Section=WIREN&Category=HOME&NewsID=106125

· HOUSTON, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Marathon Canada Petroleum ULC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO), today announced that it did not encounter commercial quantities of hydrocarbons at the Crimson F-81 deepwater wildcat well offshore Nova Scotia. The Crimson well is located on the Annapolis block, Exploration License 2377, and 211 miles (340 kilometers) offshore southeast of Halifax in 6,861 feet (2,092 meters) of water. The well, which was drilled to a total depth of 21,903 feet, (6,676 meters) will be permanently plugged and abandoned.

· Marathon and its partners will analyze data from the Crimson well to help determine next steps regarding the Annapolis discovery made in 2002, as well as the adjacent Cortland (Exploration License 2410) and Empire (Exploration License 2411) blocks.

· Marathon holds a 30-percent interest in the Annapolis block and serves as operator. The remaining interests are held by EnCana Corporation (NYSE: ECA; TSX) with 26 percent, Norsk Hydro Canada Oil and Gas Inc. with 25 percent, and Murphy Oil Company Limited (NYSE: MUR) with 19 percent. In addition, Marathon is operator of the Empire and Cortland blocks with a 50 percent and 75 percent interest, respectively. Other interest owners in the Empire block are Murphy Oil Company Limited and Norsk Hydro Canada Oil and Gas Inc., each with a 25 percent interest. Murphy Oil Company Limited holds the remaining 25 percent interest in the Cortland block. The Empire and Cortland blocks are adjacent to the Annapolis block.

· Marathon Oil Corporation is an energy company engaged in the worldwide exploration, production and transportation of crude oil and natural gas. Through its 62 percent interest in Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC, the company also refines, markets and transports petroleum products in the United States. For more information about Marathon, visit the Company's Web site at http://www.marathon.com .

· This news release contains forward-looking statements concerning possible future exploration activities on the Annapolis and adjacent Empire and Cortland blocks. These statements are based on a number of assumptions, including, among others, presently known data concerning size, economic recoverability, production experience and other operating considerations. In accordance with "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Marathon Oil Corporation has included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, and in subsequent Forms 10-Q and 8-K, cautionary language identifying other important factors, though not necessarily all such factors, that could cause future outcomes to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

· SOURCE Marathon Oil Corporation

· -0- 08/26/2004

· /CONTACT: media relations, Paul Weeditz, +1-713-296-3910, or Susan

· Richardson, +1-713-296-3915, or investor relations, Ken Matheny,

· +1-713-296-4114, or Howard Thill, +1-713-296-4140, all of Marathon Oil

· Corporation/

· /Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/133204.html /

· /Web site: http://www.marathon.com /

· (MRO ECA MUR)

· CO: Marathon Oil Corporation; Marathon Canada Petroleum ULC; EnCana

· Corporation; Murphy Oil Company Limited; Norsk Hydro Canada Oil and Gas

· Inc.

· ST: Texas, Nova Scotia, Alberta, Arkansa

Nova Scotia: Major new 2D Survey Examines Entire NS Basin

· Offshore Magazine, Sept 04

· http://os.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=CURRI&ARTICLE_ID=211972&VERSION_NUM=1&p=9

· A recent survey off Nova Scotia has yielded more than 3,500 line km of new, ultra-deep 2D seismic data that could dramatically alter perception of the province's offshore.

· According to GX Technology, NovaSpan is the first program of its kind covering offshore Nova Scotia and was specifically designed to provide a basin-wide understanding of the regional geology offshore.

· If GXT is right about the value of this survey, NovaSpan will help geologists understand the overall architecture of the Scotian basin, which could significantly change industry's view of the region.

· "NovaSpan is really trying to answer the sorts of questions geologists get very excited about," Larry Scott, GXT's vice president of integrated seismic solutions, says. "We want to determine what happened millions of years ago, not just to find the container where oil lies today."

· GXT is not doing a conventional 2D spec survey, which is a mapping type spread. "We're really trying to answer some fairly fundamental geologic questions," Scott says. The objective is an understanding of the overall basin architecture and how it evolved.

· NovaSpan is a framework for painting the bigger picture. The program could help to explain why drilling results have been disappointing in some areas. "NovaSpan will help us to understand if petroleum was generated and to infer where, in general, it would have gone," Scott says.

· The complex geology off Nova Scotia presents imaging challenges. Drilling results have been disappointing, but that fact should be placed in context. It is still early days, in exploration terms, for Atlantic Canada.

· Piers Gormly, vice president of marketing, draws a parallel between the exploration history of offshore Nova Scotia and the early days of the North Sea. "It was many years and many dry holes before the North Sea came onstream," he says.

· Quite possibly, the promise of data generated by NovaSpan will encourage operators to stay the course off Nova Scotia and to uncover heretofore hidden reserves.

· MUCH MORE IN ARTICLE, SEE LINK

Acoustic Ecology Institute, Sept. 17, 2004. Page 1 of 1

Contact: , 505-466-1879

Mexico: Gov’t Scales Back Energy Reforms

· August 25

· http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=15859

· The Mexican government said Wednesday that it will scale back plans to reform the energy sector, giving up on sweeping changes that require constitutional amendments which opposition lawmakers have repeatedly blocked.

· "We have to acknowledge reality and understand that agreements cannot be reached," Energy Secretary Fernando Elizondo said, in comments published Wednesday in several newspapers. Instead, he added, the administration of President Vicente Fox has decided to push reforms that do not require congressional approval, such as changing the sector's state-controlled regulatory system. "We've been working carefully, studying and defining the process that we are going to follow to package the reforms that we believe are feasible," Elizondo said.

· "There is a series of regular legislative measures that do not require constitutional reform and which could be adopted to make progress," he noted. The energy secretary said although the less ambitious reforms may not resolve the problem entirely, they do represent progress.

· The opposition-controlled Congress has repeatedly rejected constitutional changes that would give private capital more access to the state-run energy sector. Mexico, the world's eighth-largest oil exporter and among the top suppliers of the United States, lacks refining capacity to meet domestic demand for gasoline and diesel, forcing it to import 25 percent of its annual fuel consumption. The country pumped 3.37 million barrels of oil per day last year, just below its maximum output, and has proven reserves of 14.12 billion barrels, or enough to last another 11 years.

· Proven reserves of natural gas, on the other hand, total 20.7 trillion cubic feet, but constraints on investment stemming from the heavy tax burden on the state-run oil company Pemex have forced the country to import 30 percent of its total consumption. Elizondo expressed hope that recent agreements on public finance will translate into reducing taxes on Pemex, which is bound by law to turn over about 60 percent of its revenue to the government.

· The Fox administration would like to see Pemex reinvest a greater portion of its profits in a sector marked by underinvestment and an inability to meet domestic demand. The opposition has blocked proposed changes to the Pemex revenue stream and efforts to open the oil and gas sector to foreign companies.

· Nonetheless, Elizondo said the Fox administration intends to "take advantage of the consensus that exists on some issues to make progress" now that could lead to greater reforms in the future. "Agreements can be reached to make significant advances in the sector," he said.

· Although Fox's reform plans called for opening the energy sector to private investors, he has insisted that neither Pemex nor the country's main state-run electric energy companies would be privatized. His plans nonetheless have been stalled in the opposition-controlled Congress since August 2002. Elizondo echoed the administration's pledge to not sell off the country's energy resources or industry components. The government's plan "has never been to privatize" the sector, he said.

· He did warn, however, that Mexico will face an electricity crunch and increasingly dwindling reserves unless it modernizes the sector, noting that the existing mechanisms for industry investment are beginning to accumulate debt and cannot be used indefinitely. Larger debt payments are scheduled to begin around 2008, he said.

US: GOM celebrates new finds

· http://os.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=CURRI&ARTICLE_ID=209846&VERSION_NUM=1&p=9

· Offshore Magazine, August 2004