Capricorn, headquartered in Clydesdale Plaza on Lothian Road made the decision as part of a strategic shift to focus its operations in Egypt going forward.

As a result, the UK workforce will be reduced to 40 people. It will also review their office space needs in light of the reduced size of their team going forward. 

“In the earliest days of the strategic review, the Board concluded Capricorn’s near-term strategic focus should be primarily on Egypt, and to farm down, monetise or exit exploration concessions outside Egypt,” Capricorn said in a news release. “As a result, Capricorn will need a substantially reduced headcount in the UK and will therefore shortly enter a redundancy consultation process.” 

The news comes after a proposed Israeli energy company merger objection led to a boardroom clear-out – causing Capricorn to lose its chief executive and chair to be replaced with members from activist investor Palliser Capital in February.

Capricorn will release a quantitative and qualitative report on the costs of the recent shifts on 27 April, as part of a wider strategic review update. 

Capricorn Energy is an independent upstream energy company which is based in Edinburgh but drills and processes oil around the world. The company claims to be one of Europe’s leading independent upstream energy companies, which is in the initial stages of gas production such as exploration, drilling and extraction. 

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Scotland is thought to be the largest producer of oil and the second largest producer of gas in Europe, as it supports nearly 196,000 jobs in the sector according to a recent report. 

Scotland’s focus on oil and gas has been declining in recent years due to Scotland’s Green Energy Plan. The plan will see Scotland completely ‘climate friendly’ by 2045. However, some point out that a quick divestment from oil and gas could have negative repercussions for the Scottish economy. 

According to the Scottish Government, the oil and gas industry was responsible for £16 billion in gross added value to Scotland, or 9% of its GDP in 2019. 

“The Scottish economy is set to lose £11 billion per year under existing Scottish Government transition plans,” said Jenny Stanning, relations director at Offshore Energies UK with World Oil. “We have to get this right – 25,000 jobs, 98% of which are in the North East of Scotland, depend on this,” she said about the industry.