Shell to cut hundreds of jobs at oil and gas exploration division to cut costs

Shell is planning to cut hundreds of jobs around the world.

In a move that will affect countries including the UK, the US, the Netherlands and Brazil, the energy giant wants to reduce its oil and gas exploration and development workforce by 20 percent compared to 2022.

It is part of Shell’s broader strategy to cut between £1.5bn and £2.3bn across the company by the end of next year.

The latest proposal will see staff cuts at two businesses in the group’s upstream division.

The unit, which explores and extracts crude oil and natural gas in countries including the UK and Nigeria as well as the Gulf of Mexico, contributed more than a third of Shell’s £21bn profits last year.

Consultations will be held with staff before any final decisions are made.

A Shell spokesman said the company “aims to create more value with fewer emissions by focusing on performance, discipline and simplification across the business.”

Under Wael Sawan, who took over as chief executive in January last year, the group has focused on its most profitable businesses and catching up with its most valuable U.S. rivals.

Shell has also watered down some of its green commitments for the end of the decade, while pledging to invest more in gas fields in the UK North Sea.

Earlier this month, the group revealed that its second-quarter profits fell from £6 billion to £4.9 billion due to lower oil and gas prices.