China's Bohai Bay basin has matured but many of its offshore prospects remain to be explored.

Ensco cuts 14% of onshore jobs

LONDON, September 9, 2015 – UK producer Ensco will cut its onshore workforce by 14 percent due to a downturn in the crude market, the company announced on Tuesday. Ensco declined to say exactly how many onshore support jobs would be cut as part of the cost-saving measures, but it represents an increase from the company’s last labour cut of 9 percent.

The new round of layoffs should save Ensco $30 million annually. Combined with previous cuts, the company is set to save a total of $57 million per year. The company had announced second-quarter profits this year of $386 million, representing a year-on-year gain. In addition to cutting its onshore workforce, Ensco reduced costs in a number of areas by consolidating five business centres worldwide into three as well as cold-stacking or selling off extra rigs.

Ensco’s drillship DS-8 is due to start a contract in Angola with Total in mid-November and should bring its fleet utilisation rate in the third quarter to 60 percent. The company estimates drilling expenses in the third quarter of about $450 million.

Ensco’s cuts to its workforce are in line with an industry trend. Multinationals such as Shell and ConocoPhillips have cut up to 10 percent of their global workforce. Global energy consulting firm Graves & Co estimated in July that 50,000 workers had lost their jobs in the oil industry the previous three months.

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