Chevron warns of North Sea job cuts

Chevron is cutting its staffing levels in the UK as part of a reorganisation of its North Sea business.

The firm expects to axe around 225 positions including contractors, employees and expatriate staff. But it hopes to redeploy some of them to other parts of the world, so the exact number of redundancies is unknown.

Chevron is reviewing its UK business as part of a wider strategy to improve capital efficiency amid rising costs and record spending last year. But there is no indication that the job losses will impact operations. "Chevron's organisational design will be more asset-based with a continuing focus on its operations and progressing its major capital projects, such as Rosebank, Alder, Captain enhanced oil recovery and Enochdhu," the firm said today.

Chevron's UK North Sea production fell to 55,000 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) last year from 66,000 boe/d in 2012. Most of the firm's output comes from three mature fields — Captain, Alba and Britannia — but it has a number of new UK projects due on stream in the next few years.

Chevron has a 50pc non-operated stake in the 10,000 boe/d Enochdhu field, due to start up later this year. The firm's Alder gas and condensate development — a 32,000 boe/d tie-back to Britannia — is due on line in 2016. And it has a 19pc non-operated stake in BP's Clair Ridge project in the UK's west of Shetlands region, also scheduled for a 2016 start-up.

The firm is working towards a final investment decision on the west of Shetland Rosebank development, having warned last year that the project's economics will have to improve if it is to go ahead with the investment.

jk/et

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