Marathon Oil (MRO)

The Equatorial Guinea LNG Train 1 project is now 58% complete and ahead of schedule. With about $1 billion expended to date, it is also on budget, with first LNG deliveries expected in 2007. And we continue to move forward with our studies and our work towards justifying a second train there on Bioko Island.

Let me turn to the downstream. In the first quarter which we now had 100% ownership of the downstream operations, we set a new record for total throughputs at almost 1.2 million barrels per day, and this was done in spite of its disruptions from the two major hurricanes that reduced our total throughputs by about 40,000 barrels per day for the quarter. Again, I think another testament to the dedication and the hard work of our employees and really the value of this business.

We also took the Detroit refinery down September 29th, to tie in the expansion and the low sulfur facilities and the refinery is now expected to be back in operation by mid-November, taking this refinery from 74,000 to 100,000 barrels of crude throughput per day. And finally, moving to Slide 20, we announced this morning that we are entering the front-end engineering design or the FEED phase for an expansion project at our Garyville refinery in Louisiana. We have completed our feasibility phase of that project, and expect the FEED to take up to a year, which will likely place our final investment decision in the fourth quarter of next year.

With an estimated cost, preliminary estimated cost of $2.2 billion, this major expansion would add 180,000 barrels of crude throughput to this already large 245,000 barrel per day world-class refinery. With major new components, including a crude unit, coker, reformer and hydrocracker, this will be a major undertaking. Importantly, it will also allow us to better balance volumes through the existing facilities at Garyville, expand our use of heavy high sulfur crude and utilize existing pipelines and storage facilities. Once completed, this expansion will enable Marathon to supply the nation with nearly 6 million additional gallons per day of ultra clean fuels, including gasoline and distillates. This project provides an outstanding strategic fit to our existing refining network, including accessibility to numerous product transportation systems that serve key markets throughout the U.S.

In addition to completing a successful FEED, we will need the necessary permits and a continued favorable investment climate to move forward with this project, but we believe the expansion of our Garyville refinery demonstrates the kinds of substantial capital investments we are making in both our upstream and downstream operations to help us meet the growing energy needs of consumers while providing what we believe to be superior value growth for our shareholders.