Unite regional organiser John Taylor told Bloomberg that more jobs will follow in the construction space as projects come to an end in the next two months.

The nation's vestal of oil and gas knowledge, Sir Ian Wood, warned that about 15,000 positions relying on the industry could disappear within months.

Fuelling the exodus is of course the low oil price, as well as rising costs and declining fields.

According to BP CEO Bob Dudley about a quarter or a third of the UK offshore fields are uneconomic at current oil prices.

Meanwhile, a lobby group representing about 500 companies claimed that investment will drop by more than half this year and 70% by 2018 on the weak oil price and UK taxation.

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne is set to put the pressure on for a tax decrease next month, according to Wood, who says that he expects the rate to be lowered to just below 50% from 60%.

Companies looking to cut back so far this year have included Total, Shell, Talisman Sinopec, ConocoPhillips and BP.

Exploration drilling in the region is currently the lowest it's been since 1965.