The reorganisation announced earlier this year by gas and oil exploration company NAM will lead to the loss of some 2,000 jobs, according to local paper Dagblad van het Noorden.

Of those, 190 will go at NAM itself and the rest at associated industries such as maintenance, the paper says. NAM is a joint venture between Shell and ExxonMobil and has been hit by the government’s decision to cut back on gas extraction because of the earthquake risk.

The job losses will be a major blow to the north of the country where the unemployment rate is high, the paper says.

A NAM spokesman told news agency ANP the loss of gas-related income is also forcing the company to look at what projects will and will not go ahead. ‘Jobs will go nationwide and also on North Sea rigs,’ the spokesman said. ‘Many of those jobs are done by foreigners.’