Oilfield Services Employment Diving to 10-Year Low
Oilfield services sector is set to reach the lowest total workforce count in over 10 years, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, low oil prices, and cuts in spending by the oil companies."The oil market turmoil brought on by Covid-19 has led to lower-than-anticipated activity and delayed projects, forcing the industry to deploy cost-cutting measures. Rystad Energy analysis of the top 50 oilfield service (OFS) firms shows that staffing is set to reach its lowest level in more than 10 years, with the anticipated revenue per employee also declining towards the previous downturn’s level
Hunting Slashes 25% of Workforce
Oilfield services group Hunting Plc has cut its workforce by a fourth as low oil prices and weak demand slammed most of its business units in the second quarter, the company said on Monday.The manufacturer and services provider, which had 2,956 employees across its global operations at the end of last year, said it would cut 739 jobs by the end of the month.Hunting, which manufactures a wide range of tools and solutions used in oil and gas exploration, said it would close three distribution centres in North America and two manufacturing facilities in Oklahoma City and Texas."Our business is
PGS Laying Off 40% Office Workers. Offshore Crews Might Be Cut, Too
stacked, the spokesperson added: "We have in Q2 cold stacked PGS Apollo and Sanco Swift. We plan to warm-stack one additional vessel during Q3."Tough times for seismic playersOffshore seismic contractors, especially the owners of survey vessels, are the ones who will suffer the most from low oil prices and COVID-19 when it comes to the oil and gas supply chain, Rystad Energy said in its recent analysis.The Norwegian energy intelligence recently said that offshore seismic revenues were estimated to fall in 2020 by 51% in a $30 Brent scenario and by 77% if the Brent falls to $20, compared to
Esvagt CEO: No Job Cuts and Furloughs
Danish provider of emergency response and rescue vessels (ERRV) and service operation vessels (SOV) to the offshore energy industry, mostly in the North Sea, earlier this month said it would cut executive and staff pay, and delay investments.The pay cuts and investment delays are a response to the low oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic, which have impacted, per ESVAGT, the ERRV spot market, a large part of the company's business. Esvagt, which owns a fleet of more than 40 offshore vessels, said on May 12 that the Board of Directors and upper management had agreed to a 15 percent pay reduction
OMV Might Cut Jobs Due to COVID-19, Low Oil Prices
Oil and gas group OMV plans to extend a 4 billion euro ($4.35 billion) cost-cutting program, its chief executive said, adding it may cut jobs due to the coronavirus crisis and a slump in energy prices.Major oil producers with operations around the world have cut their 2020 capital spending by about 25%, or nearly $55 billion, following the drop in crude prices."I expect... further cost savings programs this year," OMV chief executive Rainer Seele told German daily Handelsblatt in an interview published on Wednesday.OMV has already said it would cut spending by about 20% this year and has
Polarcus to Cut Jobs, Salaries
Marine seismic company Polarcus is set to reduce workforce and employees' salaries, and stack survey vessels, as a response to the uncertainty marine seismic industry is facing in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and the current low oil prices.Polarcus on Tuesday evening announced cost-cutting measures, which the company expects to save it $15 million in 2020.These include reducing personnel costs onshore and offshore by approximately USD 6.5 million through a combination of redundancies and a reduction in base salary for Polarcus employees for six months effective 1 April 2020. "This
More than a Million of Oilfield Services Jobs at Stake
their workforce by at least 21%. Some 13 percentage points are attributed to oil-price-driven cuts and the remaining 8% reductions will be layoffs caused by measures taken by contractors who are forced to slow down project developments fearing the spread of Covid-19 on their worksites.“Low oil prices are likely to persist in 2021 and could lead to further workforce reductions. But as we move into the second half of 2021, with better market fundamentals and a fading Covid-19, recruitment is likely to pick up in the shale sector and from 2022 will also kick-off in the offshore sector,&rdquo
Shell Appoints Sawan as Upstream Boss
Shell in 1997.Brown, 56, will remain a member of Shell's executive committee until his departure on Sept. 30, Shell said in a statement."I am grateful to Andy for his strong leadership of the Upstream business, particularly having improved business performance during the recent years of low oil prices," Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said in a statement.Shell, the second largest publicly-traded oil company behind Exxon Mobil, produced nearly 3.6 million barrels per day of oil and gas equivalent in the third quarter of 2018.Shell transformed its upstream operations following the
A.P. Moller-Maersk Elects New Chairman to Steer Digital Transformation
A.P. Moller-Maersk's new chairman committed to automating its systems as the oil and shipping group steps up its drive to become more efficient and save costs at a time of low oil prices and declining freight rates. The more than 100-year-old conglomerate's digital push will mean that in theory, it should be as easy to book a container as booking an airline ticket, Chairman Jim Hagemann Snabe told Reuters shortly after he was elected. "We transport goods in the physical world and that won't change as we won't start beaming things around the world," the former co-CEO of German software
Petrobras Sees Layoff Plan Saving up to $9.2 Bln
said on Friday it will launch a voluntary layoff program to cut an estimated 12,000 jobs in a bid to save up to 33 billion reais ($9.20 billion) by 2020. The program will cost 4.4 billion reais and is open to all employees, according to a statement from Petrobras, which has been hard hit by low oil prices, refinery project problems and a massive price-fixing, bribery and political kickback scandal. The company said the planned redundancies would help adjust the size of its workforce to a smaller investment plan and boost productivity. Investors have long criticized Petrobras
Maersk Axe on Jobs
1,250 jobs this year. The planned cuts are part of a bid to reduce operating costs by 20 percent this year. The company said the move would help reduce operating costs by 20 per cent by the end of 2016 and “follows an extensive internal review of business activities and continued low oil prices.” Noting that Maersk operates “in a materially changed oil price environment,” chief executive Jakob Thomasen said the pressure is expected to continue in 2016 “and we must remain cost-focused to grow in this market.” The job cuts at Maersk
National Oilwell Varco to Cut 1,500 Norwegian Jobs
National Oilwell Varco Inc., the largest U.S. oilfield equipment maker, said it will cut its Norwegian workforce by 1,500 by the end of this year as low oil prices have reduced investments. It plans to cut 900 permanent jobs and 600 contractors, the firm said in a statement on Wednesday. "The reason for the lay-offs is the big change in the market situation for our industry over the last year with reduced investments and reduced sale of new equipment," it said. "The uncertain market situation also means that we can't say how comprehensive the process of laying
Aker Solutions to Cut Jobs in its Norway Subsea Division
Norwegian oil services firm Aker Solutions said on Thursday it planned to cut 150-200 jobs out of 3,000 in its subsea division as low oil prices made companies to cut spending. "Our Norwegian subsea services unit has had a slow start to the year as oil companies reduce spending and delay some projects," Per Harald Kongelf, head of Aker Solutions in Norway, said in a statement. In February, the firm announced up to 300 lay-offs within the maintenance, modifications and operations (MMO) division. (Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Nerijus Adomaitis)
Rolls-Royce Marine Unit to Cut 600 Jobs
about its marine unit, which accounted for about 12 percent of group revenues in 2014. Employing 6,000 people, the unit builds propulsion systems, winches and anchors for ships, and depends on oil and gas-related customers for about 60 percent of its business. "The effect of low oil prices means we have to continue to look for further efficiencies," Rolls-Royce Marine president Mikael Makinen said in a statement on Monday. The price of Brent oil collapsed from $115 a barrel to $45 a barrel between June 2014 and January this year as supply swamped the global market
Shell to Lay Off Staff, Contractors in Norway
Oil producer Royal Dutch Shell will lay off 120 of its 900 workers in Norway and reduce its contractor force by 140 from 350, as low oil prices force it to cut costs, it said on Thursday. Shell said 100 of the staff cuts would be at its headquarters in Stavanger on Norway's west coast while 20 jobs would be eliminated at its operations department in Kristiansand. Oil firms in Norway are expected to cut investments by around 15 percent this year, the industry's lobby group predicted earlier. Spending could fall further in 2016 as energy firms hold back future developments after crude
Talisman Energy to Cut up to 15% of Head Office Jobs
employees and contractors will be laid off, Talisman spokesman Brent Anderson said, and employees will be notified beginning this week. Other Canadian producers that have already announced job cuts include CNOOC-owned Nexen Energy, Suncor Energy Inc and Royal Dutch Shell. "With low oil prices we have reduced our 2015 capital spending plans and with that reduced activity comes the requirement to make (job) reductions," Anderson said. "No oil company is immune to the low oil price and we are no exception." Talisman cut its capital spending this year to $2.1 billion
O&G Sector Tarnishes Strong US Jobs Report
The U.S. oil and gas sector bled away more jobs last month as sustained low oil prices forced energy producers to reduce spending, suggesting that further pain may be ahead for the struggling industry. A roughly 50 percent drop in oil prices since June has pummeled the U.S. oil sector, prompting a quick drop in activity. The number of oil rigs active in the United States has fallen 40 percent since October. The mining sector of the workforce, which includes oil and gas workers, fell by 9,300 to 844,500 last month, according to the Labor Department's February payrolls report on Friday
