Dominion to sell gas assets to Linn Energy

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dominion Resources Inc. (D.N) said on Monday it would sell its Mid-Continent natural gas assets to Linn Energy LLC (LINE.O) for $2.05 billion, part of its bid to focus more on its power business.

With this move, Dominion has now sold or agreed to sell all of the natural gas and oil exploration and production operations it plans to divest. The company is retaining its Appalachian gas assets.

Last November, the Richmond, Virginia-based company said it would pursue the sale of most of its exploration and production assets as part of a restructuring. Prior to the Mid-Continent deal, Dominion had agreed to sell $11.84 billion of those assets.

The sale of the Mid-Continent operations, which are primarily in Oklahoma, is expected to close by the end of the third quarter. The rest of Dominion's asset sales have closed or are scheduled to close by that time, the company said.

Dominion, one of the nation's largest energy producers, including 26,500 megawatts of power generation, said it would use the proceeds from the sales to pay down debt and repurchase common stock.