BNK Petroleum says to sell shale assets to Exxon Sun Mar 17, 2013 7:30pm EDT (Reuters) - Oil and gas exploration and production company BNK Petroleum (BKX.TO) said on Sunday it had agreed to sell most of its assets in Oklahoma's Tishomingo Field to Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) for $147.5 million to fund its exploration program and repay debt. Output from shale fields in the United States and Canada has jumped over the last three years thanks to the advent of drilling methods such as hydraulic fracturing, prompting some energy companies to sell assets to finance further exploration. Exxon will acquire BNK's Tishomingo Field assets other than the Caney and upper Sycamore formations, BNK said in a statement. The deal is expected to close in late April subject to the completion of customary conditions, it added. "If completed, this transaction will provide the company with sufficient funds to accelerate our planned Caney development and flexibility to pursue our exciting European projects on our own or with partners," BNK's chief executive Wolf Regener said in the statement. BNK said it also expected to use proceeds from the deal for the repayment of a credit facility. Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd advised BNK on the transaction. Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Editing by Diane Craft