BP sells stake in Sean gas field to SSE for 288 million dollars cash

BP has agreed to sell its interest in the Sean gas field in the UK North Sea to SSE for 288 million dollars in cash.The sale to SSE is taking place through SSE's wholly-owned subsidiary SSE E&P. The divestment comprises BP's non-operated 50% stake in Sean. Completion of the deal is anticipated during the first half of 2013, subject to regulatory approval.Trevor Garlick, regional president of BP North Sea, said: "The divestment of BP's interest in the non-core, non-operated Sean field is consistent with our strategy of focusing on high value assets with long term growth potential."In the last two weeks BP has also completed the sale of its non-operating stakes in the Alba and Britannia fields to Mitsui and the Draugen field in Norway to Shell, deals that were announced earlier in 2012.Sean is a gas field in the Southern North Sea and is operated by Shell. Current net BP production from Sean is around 18,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.BP's share price was down 0.26% to 425.35 at 09:42 on Monday morning.MF