Equatorial Guinea

Protecting Abundant Natural Resources

Marathon frequently collaborates with business partners, non-profits and others on social investment programs. Along with one of our partners in EG and the Gulf of Mexico Foundation, Marathon is working on a proposal for the development of an artificial reef program for the nation and people of EG.

The partners would provide resources to assist the government in developing a fisheries management program and ecotourism industry. This program would give EG an opportunity to enhance and protect its abundant natural resources.

Supporting EITI Participation

We support and offer assistance to countries where Marathon operates in implementing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) process.

Transparency and accountability are values that guide our business conduct and shape the foundation for sustainable development. Our goal is to promote openness in business dealings and revenue transparency through the EITI process.

We believe that EITI implementation strengthens governance, fosters stakeholder cooperation, aids development of civil society and helps us manage risks.

Marathon offers assistance in implementing the EITI process, including validation and achieving designation as EITI Compliant, to countries where we operate such as Norway and Equatorial Guinea (EG).

EG became an EITI candidate country in February 2008. The EITI-EG National Commission published a report covering 2007-2008 and provided comments on the validation report before the deadline. Despite these efforts, in April 2010 the EITI board denied EG’s request for a deadline extension to complete validation. EG has the option to reapply to become an EITI candidate country, which Marathon supports.

Building Capacity to Sustain EG Malaria Control Projects

Marathon’s major strategic social responsibility project continues to be the Bioko Island Malaria Control Project (BIMCP) in EG. Through stakeholder engagement, we identified social challenges resulting from malaria. The health and wellbeing of entire communities, along with the island's economic progress and Marathon's ability to hire a local workforce, are adversely affected by this disease.

Since project inception in 2003, the malaria caseload has decreased 74 percent and the mortality rate of children under 5 years old has declined 64 percent.

BIMCP is implemented by Medical Care Development International (MCDI), with funding from Marathon. We continue to help build local capacity for BIMCP as well as the EG National Malaria Control Program (NMCP). We expect the NMCP to eventually assume full responsibility for implementing all malaria control activities currently carried out by an expatriate technical and management team.

Marathon funded the selection and training of nine individuals who will assume NMCP program responsibility. A human resource development consultant was hired to conduct an open, competitive, nationwide recruitment process in EG.

The new national team includes officers responsible for case management, operations research, monitoring and evaluation, vector control and other functions. Eight of the recruits committed to at least five years of service with NMCP following their training.

Training included:

• A 10-week orientation and induction introducing malaria and malaria control principles, NMCP/BIMCP II and associated malaria control activities, computer essentials and their job functions.
• Meetings with MCDI, Embassy of Equatorial Guinea officials in the U.S., a U.S. senator, the Pan American Health Organization and the President's Malaria Initiative/United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Washington, D.C.
• Core curriculum instruction at the Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica (INSP) in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Courses included processing, analysis and presentation of information; epidemiology; research, monitoring systems, monitoring and evaluation of malaria; malaria parasitology; entomology of malaria; and management and geographic information systems.
• Specialization instruction with personalized training from tutors in specific skill sets relevant to their NMCP roles, partially conducted in leading health institutions in Mexico City.
• Intensive English language instruction.
• A two-week course in strategic planning.
• 16 weeks at Peru’s Fundacion Cayetano Heredia (FCH) in Lima, part of Cayetano Heredia University, and Ministry of Health facilities around Iquitos. Students learned how to conduct a thorough situation analysis of the Peruvian malaria program and to prepare a plan of action and budget.

In June 2011, the students presented their findings and work to faculty from FCH, MCDI and the NMCP. Upon returning to EG, there will be close coordination between the BIMCP technical advisory team and FCH faculty. A formal continuing education program and structured job handover process with the international technical assistance team are planned.

Improving Infant and Maternal Health in EG

Women in sub-Saharan Africa are at high risk of death during pregnancy and childbirth. EGLNG and the EG Ministry of Health are working together to improve infant and maternal health on Bioko Island and the EG mainland.

In September 2010, Marathon initiated a program focused on training doctors and midwives and making improvements to local hospitals to meet World Health Organization standards. The program aligns closely with the United Nations Millennium Project goals to reduce the child mortality rate by 2/3 and the maternal mortality rate by 3/4 by 2015. EGLNG is providing funding and coordination for the program.

Jhpiego, a non-profit health organization affiliated with Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, is developing and implementing the program. This includes assessing needs, training local staff, coordinating logistics and distribution of equipment, and creating the foundation for the program. An experienced Jhpiego technical consultant is responsible for aligning the organization's technical assistance program with the ministry's objectives.

Sharing Knowledge about Malaria Control

Marathon is helping broaden understanding gained in the Bioko Island Malaria Control Project about malaria and infectious diseases.

In addition to funding a laboratory specialist from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, we are supporting a Texas Children's Hospital (TCH) physician with infectious diseases specialty training to be a continuing education/capacity building advisor. They will work in EG for two years to provide technical assistance and share knowledge with the BIMCP, Baylor and TCH.

Training Our EG National Workforce

In EG, national employees made up approximately 70 percent of our workforce in 2010. To continue building the pipeline of talent, we provide scholarships for Equatoguinean students to study in universities in the U.S. and Malaysia.

We also support EG’s National Institute of Hydrocarbon Technology (ITNHGE) and hired 11 ITNHGE trained technicians in 2011. They will receive an additional year of classroom, laboratory and on-the-job training in our operations.

Competency assessments of national employees completed recently are allowing us to identify gaps that can lead to targeting future training plans.

Workforce Integration in EG

Marathon has made significant progress in the recruitment, training and development of our workforce in Equatorial Guinea. Today national employees make up approximately 70 percent of the workforce. This includes 20 percent of managers and supervisors, 52 percent of professionals and 42 percent of operations technical employees.

In 2010 alone, 19 professionals were hired, some who attended universities on Company-sponsored scholarships. In contrast, the labor pool was largely unskilled when we acquired production interests on Bioko Island in 2002.

Building a highly skilled workforce to meet our business needs started with English language and other pre-vocational education, followed by the addition of technical training. By 2010, Marathon had established comprehensive recruiting, training and development programs to prepare Equatoguineans for careers in all aspects of our operations in EG. In addition to people with technical skills, we are working to hire professionals for accounting, supply chain, HES and other disciplines.

From 2007-2010, Equatoguineans in manager, supervisor and professional roles increased from 24 to 65 and we shifted our focus to accelerating their development. One activity that helps national employees pick up the pace of skills acquisition and career advancement is our Leadership Skills Development Program (LSDP) launched in 2010.

The course blends training, projects, assigned readings, career planning and mentorship. Participants receive one-on-one coaching and take 90 hours of core and specialized skills training courses ranging from goal-setting to conflict resolution. Based on the progress of the first 24 participants, we are planning the second LSDP class.

In 2010, we provided 28 international assignments for engineering, finance, human resources and IT professionals. They spent 30-60 days with a host mentor in our Houston headquarters to attend training not available in EG, receive certifications and learn about other parts of the Company.

Developing EG Entrepreneurs

A main objective of EGLNG’s National Content Program is to find ways to sustainably develop Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in Equatorial Guinea. In 2010, EGLNG offered SME representatives a two-month course covering market research, market segmentation and sales strategies. Over 72 hours, the 25 participants also learned how to better manage commercial interactions and relationships with customers, partners, suppliers and the general public. EGLNG collaborated with a local training company on the course structure and content.