New round of job losses in oil & gas sector not ruled out

PETALING JAYA: The oil and gas sector may see another round of retrenchment exercises, with no substantial rebound in global oil prices expected anytime soon.
"Most of the players have done retrenchments, I know it is quite a lot already, I don't know how much is enough.
"Hopefully, after one to two years, the industry will get used to the new oil price and then activities will pick up again," said one analyst.
Oil and gas players have been compelled to cut their workforce amid the oil price rout.
National oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) in March announced a cut of "under 1000 positions" as part of its group-wide transformation programme. As at November 2015, it had 51,000 employees.
Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd, meanwhile, has exited the oil and gas business, with the closure of its main oil and gas services subsidiary, GOM Resources Sdn Bhd.
Shell Malaysia announced that it will cut 1,300 jobs from its upstream division over the next two years in a bid to stay competitive in a low oil price environment.