BP to axe 600 North Sea jobs

The global company said the majority of the staff and contractor posts would go this year, with the rest expected to be lost by the end of next year.

The news comes in the same week that oil giant Petrofac – which employs 1,900 people in the UK, including hundreds in Scotland – announced it is to shed up to 160 jobs.

At least 65,000 industry workers, including 5,500 in Aberdeenshire, have lost their jobs over the past year as global oil prices continue to plunge.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the situation in the region was “very serious”.

Her comments came just days after one of her own MSPs, Dennis Robertson, claimed the sector was “booming”.

BP blamed “toughening market conditions” for the move, which forms part of its wider plans to cut 4,000 posts from its 80,000strong global headcount over the next two years. A total of 3,000 staff and contractor positions are tied to BP’s North Sea operations.

Of those, 1,250 are in Aberdeen, 565 are offshore, 350 are on Shetland, 330 are in the Grangemouth area, 150 are in London, while a further 250 are in South Korea on contracts linked to BP’s Quad 204 and Claire Ridge developments. A spokeswoman for BP said a consultation will now take place to work out the exact breakdown of job losses across its locations.

Most of the North Sea cuts will have been made by the end of this year.

It is the second round of North Sea redundancies by BP since oil prices started tumbling. Last January the company said it would lay off 200 employees and 100 contractors in the region.

Mark Thomas, regional president for BP North Sea, said the company had been forced to “take specific steps” to ensure the business remains competitive.

But Mr Thomas, who took up the post following Trevor Garlick’s retirement, insisted BP is committed to the region and would invest about £2.7 billion there this year.

Ms Sturgeon said: “For anybody who is faced with losing their job that of course is a crisis and for any company that is faced with making redundancies then that (a crisis) is the case.”

She said the energy jobs taskforce she created last January would continue to support the sector as it strives to cut costs and improve efficiency.

David Mundell, secretary of state for Scotland, said the UK Government will work with the Scottish Government to ensure help for those affected. He made no mention of fiscal measures which UK Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom said were “on the table” last week.

John Boland, from trade union Unite, said: “This morning’s announcement shows the crisis which has gripped our oil and gas sector for over a year now is far from over. It’s another hammer blow for jobs and skills.

“We need an emergency convention of all the industry stakeholders - government, employers and trade unions - to tackle this crisis so we have a safe and sustainable industry for the next generation.”

Industry body Oil and Gas UK said the plummeting oil price had impacted heavily on activity across the UK Continental Shelf.

Chief executive Deirdre Michie said: “While Oil and Gas UK cannot comment on the commercial decisions made by its members, companies are having to take very difficult decisions in what continues to be a challenging time, and we, as an industry, must be thoughtful and supportive of our colleagues who are being made redundant or facing uncertainty.”