(MENAFN- AFP) Energy giant BP said it was shedding 200 staff jobs and 100 contractors in its North Sea operations on Thursday following a sharp drop in oil prices.
The company employs around 3,500 onshore and offshore workers in the North Sea operations, mainly in and around the oil hub city of Aberdeen in Scotland.
Trevor Garlick, regional president for BP North Sea, said the cuts were inevitable due to the "well-documented challenges of operating in this maturing region" and "toughening market conditions".
But he added: "We are committed to the North Sea and see a long-term future for our business here."
A BP spokesman said that staff were informed on Thursday and the cuts would "ensure that our business in the North Sea is both competitive and sustainable for the long term".
The 200 jobs being cut are all onshore.
British energy minister Ed Davey told BBC Radio 4 that the government would "do everything we can" to retain jobs in the sector.
"We have got to make sure we have a long-term view and are not just panicked by short-term changes in the oil prices," said Davey, who was meeting with oil industry executives in Aberdeen on Thursday.
Scotland earlier this week urged the British government to ease the tax burden on the North Sea oil industry to help it cope with sliding prices.
The oil industry employs about 225,000 people in Scotland, generating £17.7 billion ($26.9 billion, 23 billion euros) in revenues for the regional economy in 2013, according to Scottish Development International.
Oil prices have slumped by more than 50 percent since June.
Energy major ConocoPhillips earlier said it was cutting 230 jobs across Britain, out of a total of 1,649 staff -- almost all of them in Aberdeen.
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