FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

                             USX                     Ashland Inc.
                             William E. Keslar       Dan Lacy     
                             (412) 433-6870         (606) 329-3148

                             January 2, 1998

Marathon and Ashland close joint venture transaction

Findlay,  Ohio -- USX  Corporation's  Marathon Oil Company and Ashland Inc.
today  jointly  announced  that  they  have  closed  the  transaction  that
officially  creates the refining and marketing  company,  Marathon  Ashland
Petroleum LLC.
The close of the transaction was effective Jan. 1, 1998.
         Marathon  has a 62 percent in the new company and Ashland  holds a
38 percent interest.
         USX, Marathon and Ashland  officials signed definitive  agreements
to create the venture Dec. 12. Plans to pursue the  combination  were first
announced May 15 when a letter of intent to seek a combination of the major
elements of the two firms' downstream operations was signed.
         Marathon  Ashland  Petroleum will operate seven  refineries with a
combined  capacity of 935,000  barrels per day, or six percent of the total
U.S.  refining  capacity.  The  refineries  are located at Garyville,  La.,
(255,000 b/d);  Catlettsburg,  Ky., (220,000 b/d), Robinson, Ill., (180,000
b/d); St. Paul Park,  Minn.,  (70,000 b/d); Texas City, Texas (70,000 b/d);
Detroit,  Mich.,  (70,000  b/d);  and Canton,  Ohio (70,000  b/d).  The new
company will have 84 light  products  and asphalt  terminals in the Midwest
and Southeast United States,  5,400 retail marketing  outlets in 20 states,
and significant pipeline holdings.
         Marathon  Oil  Company  is  a  part  of  the  USX-Marathon   Group
(NYSE:MRO).  Ashland Inc. (NYSE:ASH) is a large energy and chemical company
engaged in petroleum refining and marketing; coal and highway construction.
For more  information on Marathon see  www.marathon.com  or www.usx.com For
more information on Ashland see www.ashland.com

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