Streamlining our business now is critical if we are to create a successful and sustainable future

Scott Urban BP

However, unions have reacted angrily to the cuts.

Danny Carrigan, the Scottish regional secretary of the Amicus union, said: "One thing is for sure - we will fight enforced and compulsory redundancies, and I will be arguing that safety must not be compromised in any shape or form."

He described the news as "deeply disappointing".

"It seems that the North Sea bonanza is behind us," Mr Carrigan declared.

Offshore workers have until the end of the year

"The job losses will not just affect BP employees but will also affect contractors working offshore."

BP employs about 3,300 people in the UK in upstream oil and gas exploration and production activities.

Most of the 1,800 onshore staff are employed in Aberdeen, while the remaining 1,300 work offshore.

A further 3,300 agency and contract workers are employed by the company, which is responsible for about a fifth of the output of Britain's North Sea offshore oil and gas fields.

BP said it was "likely" that most of the job cuts - which were announced following a major review - would come through voluntary redundancies.

Onshore employees

"Where that is not possible, BP will offer an extensive range of support services designed to minimise the disruption to those leaving the organisation," it said.

"Most of the onshore employees will leave the company by the middle of the year, and offshore employees by the end of the year."

Scott Urban, vice-president for north west Europe, said BP had examined all aspects of its operations.

The North Sea remains important to BP

"This review is all about ensuring that the UK upstream business remains competitive in BP's global portfolio," he said.

"The North Sea is a great business for BP and it is a key component of our future upstream aspirations.

"Streamlining our business now is critical if we are to create a successful and sustainable future."

The company said that �700m of the �840m it planned to invest in the North Sea this year would be dedicated to UK continental shelf activities.

Similar levels of investment are expected in the following two years.

'Major concerns'

BP has also insisted that the health and safety of the workforce will not be compromised as a result of the shake-up.

Jake Molloy, general secretary of the offshore workers' union OILC, said the workforce had predicted up to 500 job cuts.

"It is the fall-out of that in regard to the contract workforce that we have got major concerns about," he said.

"Once you see a reduction in one part of the organisation it is like a domino effect, right down through engineering and drilling and ultimately the catering divisions."