Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Archer to reduce its workforce by 1,000 employees Archer is to reduce its workforce by around 1,000 employees as it looks to make cost savings during the oil price decline. The company said the move accounted for around 11% of its staff as it also looks to review its compensation, bonus and benefits plans

	Production begins from Statoil Oseberg Delta 2 field Statoil has started production from its Oseberg Delta 2 field in Norway. It is the tenth project in the company’s fast-track portfolio to be completed, with the total investment coming to slightly less than NOK7 billion

	OGA recruitment drive sparks criticism about excessive pay A trio of recruits to the senior management team at the new North Sea oil and gas industry regulator are poised to join the ranks of the UK’s best-paid civil servants

	Ofgem 'must get its act together' The energy market regulator, Ofgem, has been sharply criticised by MPs for failing to ensure consumers are getting the best value for money. The Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee said new price caps intended to curb the costs of distributing and transmitting gas and electricity were too generous while performance targets were too low

	Azerbaijan devalues currency as oil’s decline hurts exports Azerbaijan, the third-largest oil producer in the former Soviet Union, devalued its currency after the falling price of crude pressured the country’s finances

	Halliburton still tight-lipped on job cuts Energy service giant Halliburton is still refusing to say how many jobs are on the line in Aberdeen – or any other location in operations in more than 80 countries

	£163million boost for North Sea start-up Private-equity firm Blue Water Energy (BWE), which invests exclusively in the energy industry, is pouring £163million into a new North Sea oil and gas explorer

	New appointments for Frontier International and Delphian Ballistics Oil and gas recruiter Frontier International has appointed a new finance chief to help push the Aberdeen-based firm on to further global growth. Frontier, founded in 1999 by oil industry engineers Mark Clarke and Paul Radcliffe, said yesterday Bill Buchanan had joined it in the newly created role of group financial controller

	Shell-oil union talks to resume this week over strike Royal Dutch Shell Plc and the United Steelworkers, which represents 30,000 US oil workers, are said to be planning to restart talks this week to resolve a labor dispute as more workers joined in the nation’s biggest refinery strike since 1980