OREANDA-NEWS. November 22, 2013. BG Group plc (BG Group) announced that Martin Houston, Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Executive Director, has stepped down from the Board and Group Executive Committee (GEC) with immediate effect, and will retire from the Group by 31 December 2014.

Sami Iskander, Executive Vice President Operations will now take over the role of Chief Operating Officer, with immediate effect, reporting to Chris Finlayson. Sami was appointed to the GEC in 2009.

Matt Schatzman, Executive Vice President, Global Energy Marketing & Shipping will now also report directly to Chris Finlayson. Matt was appointed to the GEC in January 2012.

Martin joined the predecessor company to BG Group, British Gas Corporation, in 1983 as a petroleum geologist. During his time with BG Group he gained extensive international experience from a wide variety of technical, commercial and management roles, and played a leading role in developing the Group’s unique LNG business model. He became BG Group Executive Vice President in 2000.

In the past year, Martin has been heavily involved with QGC in Australia, in developing the long term LNG growth options for BG Group and in building the COO organisation.

Commenting on Martin’s decision to retire from BG Group, the Group’s Chairman, Andrew Gould, said:

“The Board and I would like to sincerely thank Martin for his outstanding contribution to BG Group, and its predecessor companies, over the last 30 years. He was one of the principal architects of the Group’s LNG and shipping business during the formative years. We have benefited greatly from Martin’s support and the value that he has added to the Group”.

Prior to his retirement from the Group, Martin will continue to assist QGC with the delivery of Phase 1 of the QCLNG project in Australia, where the Group is on track for first LNG in 2014.

Chris Finlayson, Chief Executive Officer, said: “In addition to the comments made by Andrew, I would like to add my personal thanks to Martin for his tremendous support during my first year in office. I would also like to congratulate Sami on his appointment and look forward to working closely with both Sami and Matt over the coming years.”

Notes to Editors:
BG Group plc (LSE: BG.L) is a world leader in natural gas, with a strategy focused on connecting competitively priced resources to specific, high-value markets. Active in more than 20 countries on five continents, BG Group has a broad portfolio of business interests focused on exploration and production and liquefied natural gas. It combines a deep understanding of gas markets with a proven track record in finding and commercialising reserves. For further information visit: www.bg-group.com