BG Group profits plunge 63% on low oil prices

BG Group chief executive Helge Lund. Picture: BG Group/Mike Abrahams/PA Wire

BG Group has seen its quarterly profits plummet by almost two-thirds as it became the latest firm to be hammered by low oil prices.

The oil giant, which is set to be taken over by Shell next year, revealed earnings of $280 million (£182m) for the three months to September, down from $759m in the same period last year.

Yesterday, Shell also cited low oil prices – as well as the cost of cancelled projects – for its $6.1 billion third-quarter loss.

While BG Group’s underlying profits fell 37 per cent to $1.2bn, this was still ahead of analysts’ expectations.

Chief executive Helge Lund insisted: “Our teams delivered another strong operational performance in the third quarter.

“In our upstream business, we maintained positive momentum in our growth projects in Australia and Brazil, and we continued to improve reliability and efficiency in our base assets.”

He added: “We continue to work with Shell on integration planning and to secure the necessary regulatory approvals ahead of the shareholder vote. The transaction remains on track to complete in early 2016.”