ROYAL Dutch Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden has emphasised the company’s commitment to the North Sea but signalled further cost cutting could be in prospect in the area.

Following retrenchment moves in the North Sea by the oil giant that have been accompanied by hefty job losses, Mr van Beurden said the area will play a part in Shell’s drive to be a world-class investment case.

“That is why the company intends to invest hundreds of millions of dollars a year in the area over the coming years,” he told the Offshore Europe conference in Aberdeen.

“Yes, we are divesting some of our assets and that will generate short-term cash but it will also focus Shell’s UK portfolio and ensure it brings in serious returns over the long-term.”

However, Mr van Beurden noted the UK North Sea faced competition from other basins around the world for investment.

He said there had been great efforts to advance the UK investment climate and to put it on a stable footing but “the work is not done”.

While Shell had become one of the lower cost operators in the North Sea, the focus on costs will continue at the firm.

Mr van Beurden concluded: “ If costs are low, if the investment landscape is good and stable, and if the people of this country can innovate as they have done for decade after decade, the world will still be relying on the work done here in the North Sea for a long time to come.”