BG sells stake in Northern Ireland gas company

British oil and gas producer BG Group has announced it is to sell its 51% stake in Northern Irish gas distributor Phoenix Natural Gas for about £120m (€172m).

BG is selling the stake to water and gas utility East Surrey Holdings, which owns 24.5% of Phoenix and has also agreed to buy a further 24.5% stake from Keyspan Energy Development Corp to take full ownership.