On Friday, Norway’s Equinor said that it would cut 30% of its exploration staff globally by 2023 to curb costs on the back of the falling demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Equinor would cut exploration staff in Norway by moving people to other positions or natural attrition but in some other locations, the company would offer severance packages. Previously, the company had said that it planned significant job cuts in the United States, Canada, and Britain.
It would focus on exploring oil and gas resources in selected areas including Norway, Brazil, and the United States, highly affected by the massive slash in exploration spending by a third from the levels seen in 2013-2014. The company has stated the exploration budget would be slashed to USD1.1 billion this year, down from February’s plan of USD1.4 billion.
Equinor’s spokesman Erik Haaland said that the planned cuts would not have an immediate impact on exploration plans but would affect many positions by 2022, both in Norway and internationally.
On a related note, Norway’s Lederne labor union has said that next week, it would escalate offshore industrial action to four additional Equinor fields. Several workers went on strike at the company’s Johan Sverdrup oilfield.
