Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell in a bid to counter falling oil prices has shed 6,500 jobs as part of cost-cutting plans.

The job cuts comprised part of its $4bn reduction in operating costs.

It said the job cuts affected contractors as well as Shell employees, and included job losses at its operations in the North Sea and cuts resulting from divestments in Nigeria.     

Shell, which currently employs about 94,000 people, said it is also scaling back its oil exploration operations.

The firm announced profits of $3.4bn in the three months to 30 June, a 35% decrease compared with last year.

Shell said that it was "planning for a prolonged downturn" in oil prices.

Chief executive Ben van Beurden said: "We have to be resilient in a world where oil prices remain low for some time, whilst keeping an eye on recovery.

"We're taking a prudent approach, pulling on powerful financial levers to manage through this downturn, always making sure we have the capacity to pay attractive dividends for shareholders."

The price of oil is currently about $53 a barrel, sharply down from about $110 a barrel a year ago.


BBC