Apache Corp. says it has agreed to sell its Gulf of Mexico shelf assets for $3.75 billion to private equity firm Riverstone Holdings as the oil and gas company focuses on growth from its U.S. onshore assets.
Shares of Houston-based Apache rose nearly 2 percent to $85.27 Thursday after the close of regular trading. For Apache's latest stock price click here.
Riverstone Holdings affiliate Fieldwood Energy will become the largest player in the shallower continental shelf region of the Gulf, acquiring a portfolio covering 1.9 million net acres through the deal.
Fieldwood will also assume $1.5 billion in estimated future costs related to plugging and abandoning old oil and gas wells, Apache said.
The sale will also put Apache close to reaching its goal of selling $4 billion in assets this year.
"This is really the first step in the rebalancing in our portfolio," Steve Farris, Apache's chief executive officer, told reporters on a conference call Thursday.
Apache's shelf portfolio ended 2012 with estimated proved reserves of 133 million barrels of oil and natural gas liquids and 636 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The fields produced around 50,000 barrels of oil and liquids and 254 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. Apache is keeping a 50 percent stake in the unexplored portions of the properties.