Unocal cutting jobs in Sugar Land, gulf region

Petroleum News Alaska Staff

Unocal Corp. said June 20 that its Gulf Region business unit will restructure and lay off some 200 workers in Sugar Land and gulf region field offices, about 7 percent of Unocal’s total U.S. workforce. Unocal said the restructuring is expected to reduce pretax costs by approximately $20 million a year. Broad organizational changes will “eliminate unnecessary work processes” and reconfigure Unocal’s gulf region unit “to meet current and future business needs.”

“The difficult steps we took today are part of a restructuring that will have a long-term positive impact for our business unit, its employees and for Unocal overall by equipping us to succeed in a new and challenging business environment,” said Ken Butler, gulf region vice president.

Unocal said it started restructuring its exploration program late last year, with the focus of the program redirected from the Gulf of Mexico’s mature shallow depths to the emerging deep shelf play.

Butler said the restructuring also would involve the divestment of properties by year-end that are marginal to Unocal. The impact of the asset sales on production and reserves is expected to be minimal.

Unocal said it expects to record a non-cash special item charge of approximately $12 million after tax for the restructuring program in the second quarter 2002.