Shell to cut 250 jobs in its North Sea operations

Royal Dutch Shell is set to cut around 250 jobs at its onshore North Sea oil operations in Aberdeen, the company announced on Tuesday.The overhaul is part of a business restructuring and the job reductions in Aberdeen will be effective by the end of 2014, as the company looks to "reorganise its upstream onshore operations, to better serve the needs of its offshore facilities and to build a stronger long-term business in the North Sea," a Shell spokesman said.The oil firm announcement comes only a couple of months after Chevron announced it would cut around 220 jobs in its North Sea operations.About 4,500 staff are employed by Shell at the company's upstream operations in Scotland, as well as around 1,000 service contractors.Shell's decision is part of a strategy that will see the company cut costs to boost revenue and will include the sale of $15bn-worth (£8.95bn) of assets around the world, including North Sea operations.Shell shares were down 0.69% at 2382.5p at 11:19 on Tuesday.DC