The Eagle Ford and other shale basins in the United States should provide strong momentum for Marathon Oil Corp. going forward, its president said.

Marathon issued its second quarter report showing an adjusted net income of $603 million, up from the $478 million reported for second quarter 2013.

Apart from Libya, where production is down because of lingering violence, Marathon said its production was up more than 5 percent for the quarter for an average 383,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and most of that growth was driven by shale basins in North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas.

"Continued strong production growth and crude oil and condensate price realizations across our U.S. resource plays helped Marathon Oil deliver another solid financial quarter," President and Chief Executive Officer Lee Tillman said in a statement Monday.

British energy company BP said in the June publication of its annual energy review shale production in the United States accounted for nearly all of the gains from outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Oil production increases in the United States last year were among the most "the world has ever seen," the report said.

Tillman said the Eagle Ford shale play in Texas should generate double-digit production growth for the rest of the year, while the Bakken reserve area in North Dakota and similar resource basins in Oklahoma should follow that general trend.

Gas prices Tuesday lowest in four years, AAA says
Washington (UPI) Aug 5, 2013 - The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States is below the $3.50 mark for the first time since March, motor club AAA says.

AAA reports the national average price of $3.49 per gallon for Tuesday is lowest national average for this date in four years. Tuesday's average price was unchanged from the previous day, though the average price at the pump has fallen steadily for about a month.

A flare-up in violence in Libya and a Sunni insurgency in Iraq means supplies from two members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may be at risk. Libyan oil production, however, remains at historic lows while the Iraqi government said July exports were higher than the previous month.

AAA said prices at the pump may be influenced by crises in the Middle East and North Africa, though "special attention" was warranted for the situation with Russia.

The U.S. and European governments issued targeted sanctions in July against the Russian energy sector, including oil company Rosneft.

"Some have suggested that the latest prohibitions eventually could impact the global supply of crude oil by denying exports of oil industry equipment and restricting Russian state-owned banks from accessing European capital markets," a Monday briefing from AAA read.

Gasoline prices for this date in 2013 averaged $3.61 per gallon. For Tuesday, South Carolina set the low-water mark with $3.21 per gallon, while California drivers paid the most in the Lower 48 at $3.95.