Chevron to cut more than 200 oil jobs in Aberdeen

Oil major Chevron today insisted it was committed to its operations in the North Sea despite unveiling plans to axe almost a fifth of its Aberdeen workforce.

The US group, which has a 40 per cent stake in the £6 billion Rosebank project west of Shetland, said its Chevron Upstream Europe (CUE) division was “reorganising” its business unit in Aberdeen, where it currently has about 1,100 employees and contractors.

A spokeswoman said: “CUE has previously conducted periodic organisational reviews to ensure alignment with its portfolio and provide the flexibility to allow the company to leverage other growth opportunities in the North Sea.

“As a result of the review, CUE expects reductions of approximately 225 positions, which will include contractors, employees, and expatriates.”

The spokeswoman said the exact number of job losses was unknown, as the California-based firm hoped to reduce the number of redundancies by finding “other global opportunities for employees”, and shifting expatriates back home.

CUE’s new organisational structure will feature about 900 onshore and offshore positions, including those employed in “major capital projects” such as Rosebank and the Alder gas field, which got the green light in January.

Chevron, which traces its roots back to 1879, has a global workforce of about 64,500 people.