Shell to cut up to 300 jobs at Canadian oil sands project
Shell to cut up to 300 jobs at Canadian oil sands project
ROGER JORDAN, Associate Editor
CALGARY, Alberta – Royal Dutch Shell is to cut up to 300 jobs at its Albian Sands mining project in northern Alberta, the company has confirmed.
Oil prices have tumbled about 50% in recent months spurring a wave of industry cutbacks, but Shell says these layoffs are unrelated to the downdraft in prices and are instead part of its efforts to build a competitive oil sands business.
“Oil sands operations are long-term projects and we take into account the fact that crude prices will fluctuate over that time. Even if the oil price had remained stable, we would still be looking at all aspects of our business to ensure we remain competitive,” a spokesman for the company said.
And while details of the positions affected have yet to be confirmed, Shell says that the scale of the cutback -- which was announced to staff on Thursday -- will be small, amounting to just 5-10% of the 3,000-plus workforce.
Those affected will be considered for opportunities in other parts of Shell’s Canadian and global businesses, the spokesman added.
Albian Sands is the mining operation portion of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project and consists of the Muskeg River and Jackpine mines, which have a combined output of 255,000 bopd.
Shell is the operator of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project, a joint venture between Shell Canada (60%), Chevron Canada Limited (20%) and Marathon Oil Canada Corporation (20%).
