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Oil giant Shell is moving staff offshore to a three weeks on working pattern.

Consultation on exactly how the new work schedule is implemented - likely to be early in 2016 - is ongoing.

The company said it was part of a strategy to ensure it was a "competitive operator in the North Sea".

Shell said the change mirrored similar changes in working pattern being implemented across the industry.

In May, BP said it was moving its offshore staff to a three weeks on and three weeks off rota pattern from January.

Offshore rota patterns have been the subject of speculation since the industry began experiencing difficulties because of the oil price downturn.

Unions had already raised safety concerns about workers being offshore for longer spells.