Noble Energy Expects To Cut More Workers

Source: Denver Business Journal

Noble Energy Inc., one of Colorado’s biggest oil and gas companies, expects to make more cuts to its workforce by the end of the year.

The Houston-based company declined to say how many employees would be involved, saying only that “limited workforce reductions” are expected to take place before the end of the year, in a statement to the Denver Business Journal.

The statement said Noble would “streamline” itself and “focus our exploration and geoscience capabilities on increasing our onshore U.S. value and high-grading our offshore exploration inventory and opportunities.”

The company said the moves are being made to “reflect anticipated activity levels and the ongoing price environment while preserving long-term opportunities.”

If this round of layoffs affects Colorado workers, it will be the third round of layoffs in the company’s Colorado operations since the start of 2015.

Noble held two rounds of layoffs during 2015 that led to the loss of a total of 170 jobs at its Denver and Greeley offices.

The company said it is "committed to supporting those impacted through this transition."

Noble, like its peers across the industry, has been struggling with years of low oil and natural gas commodity prices.

Companies have cut budgets and staff, slowed down drilling operations for new wells, and left some wells unfinished — waiting for an international glut of supply to evaporate and prices to rise.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp., another Texas-based company that’s one of Colorado’s biggest oil and gas operators, in March said it would cut 17 percent of its workforce companywide — about 1,000 jobs. The company didn’t say how many of the cuts hit its Colorado operations.