British energy company BP said Thursday it was laying off around 200 members of the onshore staff involved with North Sea operations as oil prices drop.

"We are committed to the North Sea and see a long term future for our business here," Trevor Garlick, regional president for BP, said in a statement sent to UPI. "However, given the well-documented challenges of operating in this maturing region and in toughening market conditions, we are taking specific steps to ensure our business remains competitive and robust, and we are aligning with the wider industry."

The low price of oil means international energy companies are forced to cut their spending plans for the year, which is spilling over to impact finances for secondary parts of the industry. While low oil prices are good for consumers, the energy industry itself is starting to suffer.

Ithaca Energy, which focuses on North Sea production, has already stated its budget for capital spending this year would be down about 60 percent from last year. Production is expected to decline by about 4 percent.

Garlick said staff at the company's North Sea business were notified that reductions are on their way as BP works to reshape its operations in light of deteriorating market conditions.

"Whilst our primary focus will be on improving efficiencies and on simplifying the way we work, an inevitable outcome of this will be an impact on headcount and we expect a reduction of around 200 onshore staff and 100 contractor roles," he said.

The company said it employs around 4,000 people in the North Sea sector.

The workforce reduction was first signaled by comments made in late 2014 by Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley, who advocated for a "simplification" plan as oil prices fell.

Though BP said it expects to incur "restructuring charges" of around $1 billion during the next five quarters, it said new programs will add more than 900,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to its portfolio by 2020.

BP in late 2014 said it approves projects based on oil at $80 per barrel, but examines them at $60 per barrel to weigh resiliency. The company said it would assess programs with oil priced lower than it is now "as appropriate."