Marathon invests big in Eagle Ford shale

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HOUSTON, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Marathon Oil Corp. announced it was allocating about 30 percent of its overall budget to developments in the Eagle Ford shale play in Texas.

Marathon said it had a $5.2 billion capital, investment and exploration budget for 2013. About 30 percent of that would be committed to the Eagle Ford shale play in southern Texas. The company said it was planning to produce as much as 85,000 net barrels of oil equivalent per day from the Texas shale play next year.

"The economics and well performance we're achieving in the Eagle Ford, along with our ability to drive efficiencies, make this play a focal point of our growth strategy," Marathon Chief Executive Officer Clarence Cazalot said in a statement.

The company said it plans to drill as many as 250 wells next year in the South Texas play.

A report from the Houston Chronicle states that Eagle Ford yielded 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day during the third quarter, almost double the volume from the previous quarter.

Marathon expects to yield more than 395,000 boe from its overall exploration and production assets next year.