Petronas said the sale to IGas Energy was part of a strategy to "focus on growing its European asset returns through marketing and trading."

It did not provide the sale price. IGas Energy is a British coal-bed methane producer.

Petronas said the transaction will also allow it to focus more on Star's Humbly Grove Gas Storage facility, which was not part of the deal.

Star Energy is expected to have produced an estimated 2,800 barrels of oil equivalent per day by the end of this year, Petronas said in a statement.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011