The subsea engineering firm, which provides services for many Australian major LNG and oilfield projects including Cooper Energy's Sole gas field, and Woodside's Julimar-Brunello Project, announced it would reduce its workforce to reduce costs. 

Subsea 7 was recently awarded a contract for the Barossa project from ConocoPhillips, prior to the company selling the project to Santos. 

"Faced with a significant deterioration in the oil and gas market, we are taking swift and decisive action to address the elements under our control," Subsea 7 chief John Evans said. 

"These measures to reduce our cost base will help preserve cash and protect our balance sheet strength, while maintaining our strong competitive position in core markets."

Energy News understands most of the redundancies will affect workers in the UK, but that Australian-based jobs are also on the line. 

The firm has several hundred employees based in Australia. The majority are located in Perth. 

Subsea 7 is just the latest to cut its workforce as work dries up quickly resulting from the Saudi-Russia oil supply war. 

Australian engineering firm Worley also sacked 3,000 workers as the combined COVID-19 pandemic and oil price volatility caused project cancelations and delays. 

With 45% of Worley's business dependent on longer-term operating spending budgets it has been hard hit by the global economic downturn caused by COVID-19.

Research from earlier this month showed that oilfield service providers, or contractors, were expected to be hit hardest of all across the broader oil and gas sector. 

Major listed contractors have seen market caps halved since the beginning of the year.