BP has announcing 350 job cuts at the North Sea headquarters in Aberdeen as part of a restructuring operation.

Of those affected 250 will be onshore BP staff, while the remaining 100 will be contracted workers.

The changes are intended to simplify the organisation and improve the efficiency of work processes in response to the challenges of the increasingly mature North Sea, where declining production and rapidly rising costs have created business conditions which are not sustainable in the long term.

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Andy Inglis, BP's chief executive for Exploration and Production, said: "These plans are an important step in delivering BP's agenda of simplifying how the company is run and ensuring resources are focused on front-line delivery. Furthermore, they will help secure our continuing presence in the UK's North Sea."

"The changes will be introduced in a carefully considered and measured programme over the next six months, so that BP can continue to focus on its priorities of safe operations and maximising the value of its $3 billion to $4 billion annual investment in the North Sea."

The new structure will mean fewer organisational units and reduced management layers. This will allow consolidation of onshore non-technical support activities, leading to economies of scale and reduced complexity.

BP will consult with staff over the coming months and into 2008 on how these changes will be implemented.

(GK/JM)