BP wraps up Gulf of Mexico sale

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HOUSTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- British energy company BP announced it completed the sale of several assets in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico to a U.S. counterpart.

BP closed a deal announced in September with Plains Exploration and Production Co. Plains had announced that it acquired a string of assets in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico from BP for $5.5 billion. The properties as of July were producing around 59,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

BP Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said the completion of the sale allows BP to focus on other prospects in the region.

"This repositioning and simplification has allowed us to focus our capability and personnel on delivering long-term growth from our core assets in the gulf," he said in a statement.

In November, BP agreed to pay $4 billion in penalties for charges related to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Later, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it barred BP from new federal contracts because of the company's "lack of business integrity."

Plains confirmed it closed on a $560 million deal with Shell for an interest in the Holstein field in the Gulf of Mexico to Plains for about $560 million. Shell said the field was producing about 7,400 barrels of oil per day during the summer.