The boss of British oil and gas explorer BG Group today admitted its earnings for 2013 will be “disappointing”.

In guidance for figures due out on 4 February, BG stated total results earnings are expected to be down roughly 33% to around $2.2 billion (£1.3bn).

The firm put this down to the difficult operating environment in Egypt and lower forward gas prices in the US and less production in those countries amongst other factors.

Chris Finlayson, BG Group Chief Executive said: “Despite the good progress we have made in 2013 we face short term issues which are reflected in our revised 2014 guidance. This is very disappointing.”

His firm issued a ‘force majeure’ notice under its liquefied natural gas (LNG) agreements to buyers and lenders in Egypt – a move usually for insurance purposes to avoid liability for natural or unavoidable catastrophes. BG is one of the largest gas producers in the country and has stakes in sites such as the Idku LNG terminal (pictured).

Mr Finlayson added: “We have elected to issue Force Majeure notices in Egypt reflecting the ongoing diversions of gas volumes to the domestic market. Year on year decline in Egypt and the US are the drivers of volume decline from 2013 to 2014, with the rest of the base portfolio broadly flat overall.”