More jobs cut in UK North Sea

After BP last week announced it would lay off 300 workers in the UK, amid plunging oil prices and challenging market conditions, another UK North Sea operator has decided to follow suit.

According to BBC, Talisman Sinopec said that from a workforce of around 3000, ten per cent would be affected.

Of the three hundred workers to be laid off, 100 are from the company’s staff and 200 contractors, Talisman-Sinopec, the company created in 2012 as a joint venture between Talisman Energy Inc. and Addax Petroleum UK Limited, a subsidiary of Sinopec, said.

BBC has cited Talisman Sinopec managing director Paul Warwick as saying:“Our industry is operating in a mature environment, against a backdrop of a declining oil price and ever-increasing operating costs alongside falling production levels, reduction in exploration and asset integrity and maintenance issues. We are not immune to those challenges and are taking appropriate actions to tackle them. We have spoken with our workforce and are supporting them through the process.”

Talisman Sinopec did not reply to an e-mail seeking comment, sent by Offshore Energy Today.

Unions have accused oil companies and government of failing to prepare for falling oil prices. Unite, Britain’s largest workers union, last week warned that short term job cuts would lead to a loss of skills that could undermine health and safety and the future of the industry in the North Sea.

Offshore Energy Today Staff