OIL company Royal Dutch Shell has confirmed a major restructuring and boardroom overhaul in a move affecting about 24,000 staff.

An unspecified number of job cuts are expected under the shake-up, which is being led by incoming chief executive Peter Voser.

Mr Voser, who takes over from Jeroen van der Veer on July 1, is merging two of its three “upstream” exploration subsidiaries, which employ 22,000 staff. Shell is also “streamlining”

its corporate affairs division, with headquarters in The Hague, where it employs 2,000 staff. Most of the changes will affect divisions headquartered outside the UK.

Shell has an upstream operation in Aberdeen, while it also has a Londonbased corporate affairs function in the UK.