W&T closes purchase of Newfield's Gulf properties

NEW YORK -- Oil and gas producer Newfield Exploration Co. said Friday that it completed the sale of its Gulf of Mexico exploration and production properties to W&T Offshore Inc.

W&T paid $208 million for the properties, subject to further adjustments and the assumption of asset retirement obligations. The companies said in September that W&T would pay $228 million.

W&T expects the properties to add between 3.4 billion and 4.4 billion cubic feet equivalent of natural gas to its previous production guidance. It also said third-party pipeline outages and three hurricanes that struck during the summer slowed its production. The company now expects to produce between 103 billion and 107 billion cubic feet equivalent in 2012, compared to its previous guidance of 101.1 billion to 112.9 billion.

With the sale complete, Newfield expects to produce about 298 billion cubic feet equivalent of natural gas. The previous range was 296 billion to 304 billion cubic feet.

Newfield shares rose 18 cents to close at $30.54. W&T Offshore fell 34 cents to close at $18.87.