BP Plc plans to slash 4,000 jobs in its crude-oil production unit as the prices trade near a 12 year low. The oil giant will trim its global upstream workforce to less than 20,000, including 600 people employing at North Sea projects, according to the company's spokesman Davis Nicholas.

 Bloomberg said BP is cutting staff after sacking 4,000 employees last year. According to the figures collected by Bloomberg, BP presently employs about 3,000 people at North Sea projects. The company had 84,500 employees globally at the end of 2014. 

The Independent.co.uk quoted analysts at Jefferies saying "The near-term outlook for the oil market is bleak. OPEC is producing flat-out into a market that is oversupplied by over 1 million barrels a day; already decelerating demand could decay further with slowing economic activity, and OECD inventories that are already at record levels are likely to expand through at least the middle of the year."

Commenting on the cut, Deirdre Michie, the CEO of Oil & Gas UK, said: "Companies are having to take very difficult decisions in what continues to be a challenging time, and we as an industry must be thoughtful and supportive of our colleagues who are being made redundant or facing uncertainty."

Sky News said that BP representatives have started alerting workers regarding the cuts at Scotland meetings. According to the sources, BP's move came as the flight in the oil price showed no sign of relief. Brent crude is currently at its lowest level since April 2004 as markets continue to struggle with a mixture of Chinese chaos, a global supply excess and a rising dollar, which makes purchasing of crude more expensive. 

Mark Thomas, regional president for BP North Sea, told reports that there was a "long-term future" for its operations in the region, with nearly GBP 1.4 billion to be invested this year by the company. "In toughening market conditions and given the challenges of operating in this maturing region, we need to take specific steps to ensure our business remains competitive and robust... We are speaking to our staff and agency contractor management and will work with those affected over the coming months." Mark added.

Iraq, the second-biggest manufacturer inside OPEC, expects to export a record of 3.63 million barrels per day from its southern oil terminals in February, Reuters reported, citing sources.