Sonangol to buy offshore Angola interest from Marathon Oil

Sonangol EP agreed to buy Marathon Oil Corp.’s 10% interest in offshore Angola Block 32 for $590 million, and Marathon said it also plans to buy 4,800 net acres in South Texas Eagle Ford for $97 million.

Marathon’s sale of its stake in Block 32 is expected to close in the fourth quarter.

“With the anticipated sale of our interest in Angola Block 32, we have now completed or agreed to divestitures totaling approximately $3.5 billion, surpassing the $3 billion upper end of our stated 3-year target,” Marathon Oil Chief Executive Officer Lee M. Tillman said.

Since spinning off its downstream assets in 2011 as Marathon Petroleum Corp., Marathon Oil has concentrated on US unconventional liquids plays. Few details on the Eagle Ford acquisition were immediately available.

Meanwhile, Marathon Oil announced another offshore Angola sale in June as it continues to divest properties and to buy back its own stock.

The sale of Marathon’s stake in Block 32 offshore Angola remains subject to finalization of definitive agreements, the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, and obtaining necessary government, regulatory, and third-party approvals. Upon closing, the sale to Sonangol takes Marathon Oil’s asset sales to $3.5 billion since 2011.

In June, Marathon Oil sold a 10% interest in Angola Block 31 to Sinopec Group for $1.5 billion.