BG Egypt, a subsidiary of BG Group and one of Egypt's largest natural gas producers, has appointed Khaled Kacem as its president, the company said in a statement on Sunday.

The firm said Kacem had spent 23 years in the upstream and downstream oil and gas sector and was previously general manager for Rashid Petroleum Company (Rashpetco), a joint venture conducting operations for BG Egypt and its partners Petronas and Edison, the statement said.

Kacem succeeds former BG Egypt President Arshad Sufi, who continues to be part of BG Group's team in Egypt as company chairman, the statement said.

Royal Dutch Shell agreed to buy smaller rival BG Group for $70 billion in the first large oil merger in more than a decade in April, giving the Anglo-Dutch company access to BG's multi-billion dollar projects in Brazil, East Africa, Australia, Kazakhstan and Egypt. - Reuters