BG Group Plc (BG/), the U.K.’s third- largest natural-gas producer, said second-quarter profit doubled on higher prices and production. Net income rose to $1.24 billion from $602 million in the year-earlier period, the Reading, England-based company said today in a statement. Revenue gained 26 percent to $5.1 billion. U.K. natural-gas prices were on average 58 percent higher in the three months ended June 30 from a year earlier. BG failed to capitalize in full from higher liquefied natural-gas prices after hedging against possible losses. Production in the quarter rose 3 percent to 58.9 million barrels of oil equivalent. Excluding disposals and one-time items, earnings were $1.12 billion. That beat the $1.09 billion mean estimate from a survey of 12 analysts. “We made good progress in both our exploration and production and LNG businesses”, Chief Executive Officer Frank Chapman said in a statement. “Progress that continues to de- risk the delivery of our growth program.” BG, which plans to invest $30 billion in Brazil in the next decade, last month doubled its estimate of reserves and resources in the Santos Basin off the Latin American country coast to about 6 billion barrels of oil equivalent net to the company. To contact the reporter on this story: Eduard Gismatullin in London at egismatullin@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net

Source