BP Plc announced a return to paying dividends, which it cut at the height of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill last summer and said it planned to sell refineries as it refocused on oil and gas production.

BP said on Tuesday it would pay a fourth quarter dividend of 7 cents per share and cents per American Depositary Share.

The company said it would sell two refineries in the U.S. and invest more in oil and gas production.

BP said fourth-quarter Replacement Cost (RC) net income, was $4.61 billion, as a big rise in oil prices outweighed a 9 percent drop in oil and gas production.

Excluding one-off items of $250 million, and an additional $1 billion charge related to the oil spill, RC net income came in at $5.36 billion, ahead of the $5.09 billion average forecast given by nine analysts pooled by Reuters.

RC net income excludes gains or losses related to changes in the value of oil inventories and as such is comparable with U.S. net income.