The cash deal comes when London-based BP seeks to raise money to cover the costs related to the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The company said it will sell up to 30 billion dollars of assets by the end of 2011 to help meet its financial obligations from the spill.
"BP acquired the interests in the fields - Magnolia, Merganser, Nansen and Zia - from Devon Energy earlier in 2010 as part of a wider acquisition of assets in the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil and Azerbaijan," the company said in a news release.
"When BP acquired Devon's Gulf of Mexico assets it was clear that these four fields did not fit well with the rest of our business in the region. We therefore decided they would be of more value to another company than to BP," said Andy Hopwood, BP executive vice president, Strategy and Integration.
BP estimates that the costs related to the months-long oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will amount to 32 billion dollars, including compensation and clear-up costs.
