BG Group Drops Most in 10 Months on Egypt, Norway Delays

BG Group Plc (BG/) fell the most in 10 months in London trading after saying project delays in Egypt and Norway will curb oil and natural-gas output next year.

The shares fell as much as 5.4 percent, the biggest intraday decline since Nov. 1, and were down 4.1 percent at 1,230 pence as of 9:32 a.m. local time. The Reading, England-based company was the worst performer on the FTSE 100 Index. (UKX)

Political turmoil in Egypt has forced BG to delay its West Delta Deep Marine project, it said today in a statement. Output from the Knarr venture in Norway also has been pushed back to the second half of next year. The combined impact will shave 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day off 2014 volumes, while a drop in U.S. rigs will cut a further 17,000 barrels a day.

“The new guidance for 2014 implies about 7 percent lower production than the market consensus expectation,” said Neill Morton, an analyst at Investec Securities Ltd. in London. It “will reduce earnings by about 3 to 4 percent next year.”

The shares slumped by a record 14 percent on one day last October after BG said project delays will stifle output growth. The stock has since recovered much of its loss, benefiting from the appointment of new Chief Executive Officer Chris Finlayson in January. The presentation of his company strategy in May showed profit growth will outpace gains in production.

BG today maintained 2013 output forecasts and reiterated that production will probably rise to as much as 825,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2015 from 657,000 barrels a day in the second quarter. The company will host an investor presentation in London today.

BG is the biggest U.K.-listed oil and gas producer after Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc.

Source: Bloomberg