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.

Phoenix Natural Gas employs around 200 workers and has developed a natural gas market in the greater Belfast area since it was awarded a license in 1996.

There are currently around 62,000 natural gas customers in Northern Ireland - 6,000 business, 35,000 in private housing and 21,000 in public housing.