BP Plc (NYSE: BP) is trimming its Gulf of Mexico (GoM) interests as the company looks to shore up its finances due to the freefall in crude oil prices.

BP said Jan. 28 it sold about half of its current equity interests in deepwater assets in the Gila and Tiber fields to Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX). Terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed.

BP has also formed a joint ownership interest with Chevron and ConocoPhillips Co. (NYSE: COP) in exploration blocks east of Gila known as Gibson, where drilling is planned in 2015. The companies will work together to explore and appraise 24 jointly-held offshore leases in the northwest portion of Keathley Canyon in the deepwater GoM.

The London-based company said it hopes to build on Chevron’s recent success in starting up the Jack/St. Malo oil production platform in the Paleogene/Lower Tertiary on time and on budget.

From 2009-13, BP invested more than $55 billion in the U.S. and says it’s the largest investor in the GoM.

Late last year, BP announced that it planned to reduce company expenses by $1 billion in 2015 through “a nonoperating restructuring charge.” The announcement was made Dec. 10, when West Texas Intermediate prices were at about $61. A barrel of crude oil has since fallen another 26% to less than $45.

When oil prices fall, the industry typically experiences deflation, BP said. Together with its already greater focus on streamlining activity, reduced capex would be expected to further help BP align its cost base with a smaller footprint and reduced activity levels.

The partnership in its GoM fields is expected to achieve efficiencies in scheduling, cost savings and personnel.

In the deal, Chevron will operate Tiber, Gila and Gibson. BP will transfer operatorship after it finishes drilling appraisal wells at Gila and Tiber. The Tiber will require drilling past depths of 6 miles.

As a result of the agreement, Chevron will hold a 36% equity interest in Gila and in Gibson while BP will retain 34% and ConocoPhillips 30%. In Tiber, BP and Chevron will each hold equity interest of 31%, Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) 20% and ConocoPhillips 18%.

The partnership will serve BP’s core strategy in the deepwater GoM, said Richard Morrison, president of the company’s GoM business.

“It will support continued exploration and development in the Paleogene, which we expect to be a key part of our future in the region,” Morrison said. “It will allow us to manage and maintain capital discipline by sharing development costs. And transferring operatorship of these assets to Chevron will allow BP to increase our focus on maximizing production at our four existing producing hubs in the Gulf, each of which is still in the early stages of development.”

BP discovered Tiber in 2009 and Gila in 2013, and in October 2014 participated as a co-owner in the Chevron-operated Guadalupe discovery.

The recently-announced discovery at Guadalupe, located adjacent to Keathley Canyon, could also be developed by utilizing the centralized production facility. Chevron, BP, and Venari Resources LLC, the Guadalupe co-owners, will evaluate this possibility during an upcoming appraisal phase.

BP said it expects development portions of the Paleogene trend will require next-generation tools and systems for operating in high-pressure, high-temperature reservoirs. Early wells drilled in the Paleogene sands reached depths of about 30,000 feet.

The company will continue to pursue development of these technologies through its Project 20KTM initiative, announced in 2012, and will work with co-owners to continue this progress.

BP is the largest leaseholder in the GoM and a leading oil and gas producer in the region.

Since early 2013, BP has had four major project start-ups in the deepwater GoM: Atlantis North, Mars B (operated by Shell), Na Kika Phase 3 and Atlantis North Expansion Phase 2.

BP operates four large production platforms in the deepwater Gulf—Thunder Horse, Atlantis, Mad Dog and Na Kika—and holds interest in four nonoperated hubs known as Ursa, Great White, Mars and Mars B.

Prior to the transactions, BP had a 62% working interest in Tiber, with Petrobras owning 20% and ConocoPhillips 18%. In Gila, BP previously had a 65% working interest and ConocoPhillips 35%. In Gibson, ownership in the six-lease area varied based on lease, with Chevron, BP and ConocoPhillips all holding stakes.