BG Group has agreed to buy fellow UK energy firm Gulf Keystone’s share in the Hassi Ba Hamou oil and gas exploration and production license in Algeria for $9.9m.

The deal follows a series of negotiations in 2009 after Gulf Keystone decided to quit the concession in order to focus on its operations in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

In September 2009, MEED reported that Gulf Keystone had started legal proceedings against BG after it tried to force its partner to forfeit its rights to the permit. Gulf Keystone stood to lose up to $7.5m from the failed deal (MEED 20:9:09).

The $9.9m sale of Gulf Keystone’s assets still requires approval from the companies’ partner in the permit state energy giant Sonatrach, and the government of Algeria. Gulf Keystone has also decided to abandon plans to develop its concession at the Ban Guecha field in southwest Algeria and expects the development license on this project to lapse.