Less than a week after Shell New Zealand announced an all-encompassing asset review, its parent Royal Dutch Shell says it is planning to cut 2800 jobs globally, following its £55billion ($NZ123.3billion) takeover of LNG specialist BG Group.
AFP reported Shell had said the latest cuts were in addition to previously announced plans to reduce its own headcount and contractor positions by 7500 worldwide.
The Anglo Dutch group on Monday said the takeover had won approval from the Chinese Government and had already been cleared by authorities in Australia, Brazil and the European Commission.
The 2800 jobs represented about 3% of Shell's global workforce.
Shell New Zealand said last Friday it expected to take several months to review all its exploration and production assets around the country, with options ranging from maintaining the status quo to potentially exiting the country altogether.
The BG Group takeover deal is aimed at helping Shell boost its flagging output thanks to BG Group's strong position in liquefied natural gas (LNG), a cleaner alternative to coal and nuclear energy.
The tie-up comes also as oil prices slump on world markets, severely reducing profits at energy majors.
"I am delighted we now have all the pre-conditional approvals needed to move to the next important phase,'' Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden said.
"This is a strategic deal that will make Shell a more profitable and resilient company in a world where oil and gas prices could remain lower for some time.''
Shell, which will now seek approval from both sets of shareholders, remains on track to complete the BG Group deal in early 2016.
● BG Group, an international exploration and production and LNG company, employs about 5000 people across more than 20 countries.
In 2017, BG Group said it would be the largest contracted supplier to China, the world's fastest-growing LNG market.
BG Group had also delivered to 26 of the 27 countries which import LNG.
- Simon Hartley and AFP
