BG Group

The company was created in 1997 when British Gas plc divested Centrica{{Cite web |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6638/is_199612/ai_n26532060 |title=British Gas to split in February 1997 |access-date=10 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220183246/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb6638/is_199612/ai_n26532060 |archive-date=20 February 2009 |url-status=dead }} and became BG plc, which was reorganised in 1999 as BG Group plc.{{Cite web|url=http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/2003/fulltext/480glossary.pdf |title=Competition Commission Report Page 313 |access-date=18 April 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110519015453/http://www.competition-commission.org.uk/rep_pub/reports/2003/fulltext/480glossary.pdf| archive-date= 19 May 2011 | url-status= usurped}}

On 23 October 2000, a further demerger separated the company into Lattice Group and BG Group. Lattice took ownership of Transco (the gas transporter for the UK), Advantica (gas engineering and consultancy specialist) along with the property and transport companies and BG Group took ownership of gas fields and other assets. In 2002, Lattice merged with National Grid Company to become National Grid Transco which was renamed National Grid in 2005.

In September 2007, BG Group delisted its ADRs from the New York Stock Exchange.{{Cite web|url=http://www.itbusinessedge.com/item/?ci=31610 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224110016/http://www.itbusinessedge.com/item/?ci=31610 |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 February 2009 |title=Sarbos strikes again: BG to delist from NYSE |publisher=Itbusinessedge.com |access-date=18 April 2011 }} Instead its shares began trading on the US over-the-counter market.{{Cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pwwi/is_200709/ai_n20516761/print?tag=artBody;col1 |title=Pink Sheets Press Release (25 September 2007): BG Group plc Joins International OTCQX |publisher=Findarticles.com |access-date=18 April 2011}}

In June 2008, BG Group made a US$13.1 billion bid to acquire Origin Energy, Australia's largest coal-seam gas producer, but were outmanoeuvred by ConocoPhillips, who offered to invest US$9.1 billion in a joint venture with Origin.{{Cite web|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/09/business/energy.php |title=BG Group admits defeat in bid for Origin |work=International Herald Tribune |date=29 March 2009 |access-date=18 April 2011}} However, in October 2008, BG Group bought Queensland Curtis LNG for US$3.4bn in order to operate in Asia's liquefied natural gas market,{{Cite web|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/28/business/28bg.php |title=BG Group to buy Queensland Gas for $3.4bn |work=International Herald Tribune |date=28 October 2008 |access-date=18 April 2011}} and on 1 November 2010, BG Group announced plans to invest £9.3bn on the world's first project to liquefy and ship gas produced from coal deposits – the first in a series of "coal seam methane" projects in the region of eastern Australia; by late 2014, this was sending gas produced from coal deposits by pipeline to a terminal in Gladstone on the east coast.{{Cite web|title=BG invests £9.3bn in first of its kind LNG project |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/energy-and-clean-tech/2010/11/coal-deposits-gas-project-oil|work=Added latest project details|access-date=16 November 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101104224512/http://www.newstatesman.com/energy-and-clean-tech/2010/11/coal-deposits-gas-project-oil| archive-date= 4 November 2010 | url-status= live}} In October 2011, BG Group signed a US$8 billion deal with Cheniere Energy to export liquefied natural gas from the United States.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/8851312/BG-Group-signs-ground-breaking-8bn-gas-deal-with-US.html|title=BG Group signs 'ground-breaking' $8bn gas deal with US|access-date=2 November 2011|work=The Telegraph| date=26 October 2011}}{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/lng-cheniere-idUSN1E79P0N120111026|title=Cheniere and BG ink $8 bln deal to export US LNG|access-date=2 November 2011|publisher=Reuters|date=26 October 2011|archive-date=28 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028173528/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/26/lng-cheniere-idUSN1E79P0N120111026|url-status=live}}

In October 2012, BG sold its 65% majority stake in Gujarat Gas Company for $470 million to the state-run Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation.{{cite news| url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/bg-brief-idUKL6E8L3DVL20121003| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306101337/http://uk.reuters.com/article/bg-brief-idUKL6E8L3DVL20121003| url-status=dead| archive-date=6 March 2016| title=BG offloads Gujarat Gas stake for $470 mln | work=Reuters | publisher=Reuters | date=3 October 2012}} In January 2014, BG Group announced the initial drilling of an oil exploration well offshore in Kenya.{{Citation

| url = http://www.oilreviewafrica.com/exploration/exploration/bg-group-and-partners-strike-oil-offshore-kenya

| title= BG Group and partners strike oil offshore Kenya

| year = 2014

| publisher = Oil Review Africa

| publication-place = Africa

}}

In April 2015, Royal Dutch Shell announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire BG Group for $70 billion, subject to regulatory and shareholder agreement. The deal gave BG shareholders 19% of the combined group, and gave Shell extensive access to BG's LNG assets, accelerating its global LNG and deep water strategy.{{cite news|title= Shell agrees deal to buy energy rival BG Group for $70bn|url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/11521123/Shell-in-talks-to-buy-BG-Group.html |work=The Telegraph|date= 8 April 2015|access-date=8 April 2015}}{{cite news|title=Recommended Cash And Share Offer For BG Group PLC By Royal Dutch Shell PLC |url=http://s01.static-shell.com/content/dam/shell-new/local/corporate/corporate/shell-announcement/offer-announcement-royaldutchshellplc-bggroupplc.pdf }}{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Finalisation of the BG acquisition by Royal Dutch Shell was completed on 15 February 2016.{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/shell-bg-group-acquisition-complete-energy-giant-focuses-liquefied-natural-gas-2307736|title=Shell-BG Group Acquisition Complete, As Energy Giant Focuses on Liquefied Natural Gas|author=Jess McHugh|work=International Business Times|date=15 February 2016 |access-date=15 February 2016}}

image:Plataforma P-52.jpg P-52, which operates in the Campos Basin.]]

File:BPGroupplaceHouston.JPG in Houston, United States, the former North American headquarters of BG Group.]]

BG Group's main business was the exploration and extraction of natural gas and oil and the production of liquefied natural gas. It sold these products to wholesale customers such as retail gas suppliers and electricity generating companies. It also owned some gas pipelines and was involved in some power generation projects. It was active around the world, with only a minority of its business being in the UK. BG Group was a multinational company with operations in 27 countries. Key areas for the company included:{{Cite web |url=http://www.bg-group.com/InvestorRelations/Reports/db2010/Pages/default.aspx |title=Data Book 2010 |publisher=Bg-group.com |access-date=18 April 2011 |archive-date=29 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110529092231/http://www.bg-group.com/InvestorRelations/Reports/db2010/Pages/default.aspx |url-status=dead }}

• Australia
• QGC, coal seam gas upstream plays in Queensland's Surat and Bowen basin, and Curtis Island based LNG plant
• Brazil
• Interests in the Tupi, Iara, Guara, and Iracema fields in the Santos Basin off the coast of southeastern Brazil
• Egypt
• Operates the Rosetta and West Delta Deep Marine gas fields, LNG export
• India
• Interest in the Panna-Mukta and Tapti fields, and Mahanagar Gas Limited (a city gas distribution company operating in Mumbai).
• Kazakhstan
• Interest in the Karachaganak gas field
• Norway
• Exploration licences with several discoveries
• Thailand
• Interest in the Bongkot gas field
• Trinidad & Tobago
• NCMA gas fields, Dolphin gas field, LNG export
• Tunisia
• Operates the Miskar and Hasdrubal gas fields
• UK
• Interests in several oil and gas fields in the UK continental shelf, including operating the Armada, Everest, and Lomond gas fields and the Blake oil field, Interest in the Dragon LNG import terminal
• USA
• Interest in LNG Terminals, shale gas joint venture operation in the Haynesville and Marcellus plays, and Houston.

Sir Frank Chapman was appointed Chief Executive of the BG Group in October 2000. His remuneration for this role in 2008 consisted of £1,081,588 base salary and a £1,944,000 bonus.{{Cite web|title=Remuneration report |url=http://bgara.blacksunplc.com/ara/report_corp_gov/directors_remuneration.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614085418/http://bgara.blacksunplc.com/ara/report_corp_gov/directors_remuneration.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 June 2011 |work=Annual Report & Accounts 2008 |publisher=BG Group |access-date=23 August 2009 }}

Chapman stood down at the end of 2012 after 12 years as CEO, and was replaced by Chris Finlayson, previously managing director for 'BG Advance', a business function within the Group. Chapman continued as an advisor to BG Group until he retired in June 2013.{{Cite web |title=BG names industry veteran Finlayson as CEO|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bg-ceo-idUKBRE8BC07L20121213 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111013017/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bg-ceo-idUKBRE8BC07L20121213 |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 January 2016 |work=Reuters |date=13 December 2012 |access-date=13 December 2012}} Finlayson lost the confidence of the Board in 2014 and resigned, replaced by Andrew Gould.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/epic/bgdot/10802278/No-sacred-cows-as-BG-considers-asset-sell-off.html |title=No 'sacred cows' as BG considers asset sell-off |date=1 May 2014|work=The Telegraph|access-date=19 May 2014}}

On 15 October 2014, the company announced that Helge Lund, former CEO of Statoil, would become CEO.{{cite web|title=Currently CEO of Statoil, Helge Lund will join @BGGroup from 2 March, 2015|url=https://twitter.com/BGGroup/status/522270640578236416|website=twitter.com|publisher=BG Group|access-date=15 October 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.dn.no/nyheter/2014/10/15/0801/lund-blir-toppsjef-i-britiske-bg|title=Helge Lund blir toppsjef i britiske BG|date=15 October 2014 |access-date=15 October 2014|publisher=DN.no}} Lund left the company on 15 February 2016, following successful completion of the Shell acquisition and was replaced by a Shell appointed transition CEO.{{Cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bg-shell-m-a-idUKKCN0US20P20160114|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118141427/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bg-shell-m-a-idUKKCN0US20P20160114|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 January 2016|title=Shell names top executive to head BG during complex integration|last=Bousso|first=Ron|newspaper=Reuters UK|access-date=2017-02-06|language=en-GB}}

RepRisk listed the BG Group as seventh in its top ten of "Most Environmentally and Socially Controversial Companies of 2010". Reasons for the company's inclusion are as follows.

• The BG Group were associated with deep-sea drilling plans in the Sicilian Strait. Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO) consortium that includes BG was reportedly fined US$21 million for environmental violations at the onshore Karachaganak Oil and Gas Field.
• BG subsidiary Queensland Gas Company's Queensland Curtis LNG Project had caused controversy in Australia.
• The exploitation of the Tarija natural gas reserves in Bolivia where another BG subsidiary operated.
• The report also criticized the remuneration given to its chief executive who had received GBP 28 million in cash, shares and pension contributions in 2009.{{rp|8}}

{{reflist|2|refs=

{{cite web|title=Most Environmentally and Socially Controversial Companies of 2010|url=https://www.reprisk.com/downloads/specialreports/16/RepRisk%202010%20Most%20Controversial%20Companies%20Report.pdf|publisher=RepRisk|access-date=19 May 2014|author=Karen Reiner|location=Zurich|date=15 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519164320/https://www.reprisk.com/downloads/specialreports/16/RepRisk%202010%20Most%20Controversial%20Companies%20Report.pdf|archive-date=19 May 2014|url-status=dead}}

}}

• [https://www.forbes.com/companies/bg-group/ Official Profile] on Forbes

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