OKLAHOMA CITY, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- SandRidge Energy Inc. President James Bennett said the close of a $750 million deal for its assets in the Gulf of Mexico streamlines its onshore focus.
"The sale of the gulf assets allows us to heighten our focus on the mid-continent," he said in a statement Tuesday.
The company said it would invest the cash from the sale into its exploration projects inland in the United States, where it plans to drill as many as 30 more wells this year. SandRidge said it expects to produce 29.3 million barrels of oil equivalent this year.
SandRidge announced plans for the sale of its Gulf of Mexico business to its counterpart Fieldwood Energy LLC for $750 million in cash in December. SandRidge, which has headquarters in Oklahoma, said the offshore properties produced approximately 23 million barrels of oil equivalent per day during the fourth quarter of 2013.
Bennett said the sale positions SandRidge as a "premier, high-return, growth-oriented" company operating onshore in the United States.
