Petrofac administration not a great start to the week for Ed Miliband though relief could come

It's not the start to the week that Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, would have been hoping for: more than 2,000 private sector jobs in Scotland at risk from the collapse of Petrofac, the London-listed oilfield services group.

Its slide into insolvency was triggered by last week's cancellation of a major contract by its biggest customer, but the failure of a company once valued at more than £6bn has been a long time coming. Money blog: 'We protect UK from attack, our salaries can be limitless' Administrators at Teneo will now attempt to salvage what they can from Petrofac's wreckage.

"The group's operations will continue to trade, and options for alternative Restructuring and [sale] solutions are being actively explored with its key creditors," Petrofac said on Monday morning. "When appointed, administrators will work alongside Executive Management to preserve value, operational capability and ongoing delivery across the Group's operating and trading entities." For thousands of employees, the future is now uncertain, although people close to the company say they are hopeful that a buyer can be found swiftly for its North Sea operations, with one suggesting that it could even happen in the coming days.

That would be a relief to Mr Miliband, whose energy policy has come under growing scrutiny in recent months amid dire warnings about the future of Britain's offshore oil industry. A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said, "The UK arm of Petrofac has not entered administration and is continuing to operate as normal, as an in-demand business with a highly skilled workforce and many successful contracts." "Petrofac's administration is a product of longstanding issues in their global business.

"The government will continue to work with the UK company as it focuses on its long-term future.".