EnQuest announced it will make 530 redundancies in its North Sea operation to make savings of £241million ($300m) following the slump in demand and in oil prices.
The industry’s body Oil and Gas UK has warned that it expected as many as 30,000 job losses across all companies to go as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The independent British oil exploration and production company confirmed it had begun a six-week consultation with employees as it took “decisive action to manage the business in the current challenging economic environment”.
EnQuest was was formed in April 2010 by a combination of the demerged British North Sea assets of Petrofac and Lundin Petroleum.
* Aberdeen-based Ithaca Energy, owned by Israeli Delek Group and one of the biggest North Sea operators, plans to halve its capital spend to £100m ($125m) this year. It also plans to cut operational costs by 16% to £298m ($370).
The company expanded last year, with its £1.61bn ($2bn) acquisition of Chevron North Sea. Ithaca has been producing 75,000 barrels of oil per day but plans to cut that back by 10%. (Reuters)