Dana Gas, which has retained advisors to assess options for $1 billion in debt maturing this year, said on Thursday its chief executive will retire in September after three years at the helm.

Ahmed Al-Arbeed will remain on the board of directors, the Gulf Arab region's only listed natural gas firm said in a statement issued after its shareholder meeting in Abu Dhabi.

Dana, which has operations in the UAE, Egypt and Kurdistan and owns a 3-percent stake in Hungarian group MOL, said a committee has been appointed to oversee the search for a replacement for Arbeed.

The Abu Dhabi-listed firm's shares have been battered recently over fears it might struggle to honor the debt.

However, the company said in January that it would meet its debt obligations. The stock is down about 35 per cent this year.

The company hired Blackstone Group as a financial advisor to assess options for its $1 billion Islamic bond  maturing in October, two sources told Reuters this week, alongside Deutsche Bank.

Dana, made a quarterly profit of Dh147 million ($40 million), according to Reuters calculations. It had profit of Dh59 million in the year-ago period. – Reuters