BG posted fourth quarter earnings of $1.06 billion (656.79 million pounds) on Tuesday, ahead of an average forecast of $924 million from a company-supplied poll of fourteen analysts, and higher than the $931 million it made in the same period last year.

BG, which produces about a third of Egypt's gas, said civil unrest in the North African country had had no material impact on it so far, repeating a previous statement.

The group said it was on track to grow its exploration and production business by seven percent a year. It almost doubled its five-year production forecast from US shale gas and lifted estimates for production from Brazil in 2020 by 37.5 percent.

A 2 percent dip in group production in the quarter was more than offset by higher gas prices with the company selling gas to the international and UK markets for prices which were 22 percent and 18 percent higher than last year.