An oil and gas exploration firm is set to cut 60 jobs across the UK with dozens of redundancies expected in Aberdeen.

Expro said a downturn in the North Sea caused by a slump in the value of oil had motivated the decision.

Neil Sims, Expro’s European regional director, said the losses “could no longer be avoided".

Mr Sims said: “Expro is preparing to make approximately 60 redundancies in the UK, and the majority of these will be in Aberdeen.

“Every effort has been made to minimise the impact on our business through a range of cost reduction measures taken earlier last year, continuing into this year.

“However, in response to the ongoing environment and overall impact on our business, some job losses can no longer be avoided.

“Employees representatives are being consulted this week, following which individual employee consultations will begin shortly afterwards. As a company we will continue to do what we can to limit the impact on our employees, and support them through this difficult time.”

The value of a barrel of Brent crude oil has more than halved since June last year, causing widespread uncertainty in the industry. BP, Shell, Schlumberger, Talisman Sinopec, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips have all announced job cuts in the North Sea sector.

A meeting will be held in Aberdeen later this month for workers whose livelihoods have been put at risk by the downturn. The industry employs 225,000 people nationwide.

The price of oil has recovered from a low of less than $45 a barrel, but remains unstable. Leading energy economist Alex Kemp previously warned that investment in the North Sea is expected remain stagnant in the first half of 2015.

Source - news.stv.tv

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