Future of giant oil terminal unclear

The future of Europe's biggest oil and gas terminal is unclear after oil giant BP said it is planning a massive shake-up.

The Sullom Voe plant in Shetland is used for processing thousands of gallons of raw fuel mined from BP's North Sea operations.

The firm, which part-owns the site as one of a consortium of firms and is its biggest employer, would not elaborate on any restructuring.

But it has confirmed there have been talks between company management and employees on proposals.

But a spokesman insisted no decisions had yet been taken and could not say what impact the changes would have on jobs and activity at the site.

He said: "There needs to be restructuring of the terminal because of the declining production in the North Sea. There have got to be changes, but what exactly those changes are have still not been decided."

Company bosses say the huge terminal, which employs 300 staff and more than 250 contractor staff, needs to become more competitive.

A further 100 staff are employed by the council, which acts as the harbour authority, and another 70 workers employed by the local towage firm.

Sullom Voe was built 21 years ago and was the world's largest construction project at the time. It currently handles about 600,000 barrels of oil a day.

Shetland Islands Council said there had been speculation about the plant's future for several months and job losses were seen as almost inevitable.