225 Jobs to go at Sullom Voe

BP has confirmed that it plans to cut 225 jobs (75 staff and 150 contractors) at its Sullom Voe oil terminal in Shetland. The oil company said it aimed to cut its operating costs at the plant by decommissioning some of the processing capacity.

Of the current 300 BP jobs at the site, about one quarter will be lost in 2003 under current plans. There is also likely to be around a 50 per cent reduction in the number of contractors employed. Currently there are about 300 contractors on site, but this number varies with the work programme.

The Sullom Voe plant is owned by a consortium of firms including BP Amoco and Shell. It was built by 7,000 workers in 1981 and at its peak handled about 1.4 million barrels of oil a day, although the figure these days is closer to 600,000 barrels a day.

The company said last month it was looking to restructure the plant because of declining production in the North Sea. It is considering decommissioning the terminal's gas plant and scrapping other oil processing equipment. The aim is to keep the site competitive beyond 2015.

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