Shell to lay off staff, contractors in Norway

OSLO, April 23 (Reuters) - Oil producer Royal Dutch Shell (Xetra: R6C1.DE - news) will lay off 120 of its 900 workers in Norway and reduce its contractor force by 140 from 350, as low oil prices force it to cut costs, it said on Thursday.

Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) said 100 of the staff cuts would be at its headquarters in Stavanger on Norway's west coast while 20 jobs would be eliminated at its operations department in Kristiansand.

Oil firms in Norway are expected to cut investments by around 15 percent this year, the industry's lobby group predicted earlier. Spending could fall further in 2016 as energy firms hold back future developments after crude prices halved.

"Shell's Norwegian producing fields are facing declining production in the years to come," the firm said. "In addition, a number of major projects are either completed or about to be completed, without new correspondingly large projects planned in the foreseeable future."

"Falling oil prices have reinforced the need for changes," it added.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; editing by Susan Thomas)