UK-based energy company BG Group will not see any major changes to its operations in Egypt until the company’s merger with UK/Dutch oil and gas company Shell is completed, according to a spokesman for the group.

“We remain an independent company and business will continue as usual until the transaction is finalised,” the spokesman told MEED on 1 July. “The merger is on track to be completed in early 2016.”

The US regulator, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), gave the merger the green light earlier this month, setting the scene for what could prove to be the biggest deal the energy sector has seen in more than a decade.

The share and cash offer from Shell values the company at just under $70bn.

Regulators in all of the countries that BG operates in will have to clear the deal before the transaction is completed.

These include the EU, China, Australia, Norway, Brazil and Egypt.

BG’s Egypt operations have been dogged by problems over recent years due to the country’s natural gas shortage.

The group’s Egyptian gas fields have declined faster than expected, and the rapid rise in domestic demand for natural gas has resulted in feedstock that had been designated for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) export operations being diverted to the local market.

Analysts have speculated that the company created by the merger of Shell and BG may choose to reduce activity in Egypt due to the ongoing problems in the energy sector.