Sinopec Unit Addax Cuts 70 Jobs

Addax Petroleum, a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned oil giant Sinopec Group, will cut up to 70 jobs at its Geneva office, a quarter of its staff in the city, due to falling crude prices, it said on Thursday, confirming a report in Le Temps newspaper.

"I can confirm we have taken steps towards staff reduction in Geneva of up to 70 positions," Addax Petroleum's spokeswoman Marie-Gabrielle Cajoly said in an emailed comment.

"That is unfortunate and a consequence of the persistent decline of oil prices. We are forced to align ourselves to the realities of the market."

Brent crude futures fell from $116 per barrel to around $45 in January due to an oversupply of oil. Prices were around $49 on Thursday.

Cajoly said the announcement was made to the Geneva office's approximately 260 employees on Wednesday.

Sinopec Group bought Addax Petroleum Corp for $7.24 billion in 2009, in what was then China's biggest overseas acquisition, to gain access to high-potential oil blocks in West Africa and Iraq.

Addax, an oil and gas exploration and production company, employs over 1,100 people and produces oil and gas in Nigeria, Gabon, Cameroon, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the North Sea, according to its website.

(Reporting by Tom Miles)