Washington, Nov 19 (IANS): British oil giant BP has agreed to sell its Pompano and Mica oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico to Stone Energy Offshore, a subsidiary of Stone Energy Corp, for $204 million in cash, the British company said.

The agreement includes the sale of BP's 75 percent operated working interest in the Pompano field and assets and 50 percent non-operated working interest in the Mica field, together with a 51 percent operated working interest in Mississippi Canyon block 29 and interests in certain leases located in the vicinity of the Pompano field, BP said in a statement.

Stone Energy Corporation is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Louisiana, reported Xinhua.

The sale is expected to close in 2012.

"We continue to make progress in our divestment programme as we focus on BP's areas of strength around the world," said BP group chief executive Bob Dudley.

"The sale of these mature assets will allow us to concentrate our efforts on the major production hubs and significant growth opportunities that BP has in the Gulf of Mexico," he said.

On completion of the transaction, BP will continue to operate seven production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP is the largest producer of oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico, producing from over 20 fields in the Gulf. It's also the largest leaseholder in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, owning more than 650 leases.