Warning of further major job cuts in UK offshore and gas industry

The oil price downturn will have cost an estimated 120,000 jobs supported by the UK offshore oil and gas industry by the end of this year.

The predicted plunge is since the peak of 2014 when there were more than 450,000 direct and indirect jobs in the sector and the price of oil was more than $100 a barrel.

It is presently trading at around $50 but has fallen to below $30. It needs to be above $60 for development in the North Sea industry to start to be viable.

Industry body Oil & Gas UK has issued the new figures from analysis by marketing services company Experian.

Their report forecasts that in 2016 just over 330,000 jobs in the UK will be delivered through or supported by oil and gas production.

They cover direct employment provided by companies involved in the extraction of crude oil and natural gas and supply chain companies.

They also include indirect employment across the supply chain which also exports goods and services overseas.

Jobs in hotels, catering and taxis created by the sector’s spending in the wider economy are also covered.

Since the 2014 peak of 450,000 jobs, the posts fell by an estimated 84,000 to around 370,000 in 2015, and are forecast to fall a further 40,000 by the end of this year.

Deirdre Michie, chief executive of Oil & Gas UK, said: “We cannot underestimate the impact the global downturn in the industry is having on the UK economy, nor the personal toll for those who have lost their jobs, and the effect on their families and colleagues.”

Strenuous efforts were being made by governments and other bodies to help the industry, but she said the sector needed to be more efficient to restore competitiveness.