BOSSES of a North-East subsea company have played down fears that the firm could be about to fall victim to falling oil prices.

Confirmation this morning that Norway-based Reef Subsea had filed for bankruptcy led to reports that its British operations were at risk – including about 80 staff employed at offices in Thornaby, near Stockton.

The UK business sought to clarify its position in a statement, which said: “Reef Subsea UK Limited (RSUK), based in Stockton-on-Tees, is a separate legal entity from Norwegian parent company Reef Subsea AS, and remains under the control of its directors. For the avoidance of doubt Reef Subsea UK Limited is not in administration.”

Reef Subsea recently completed its largest project to date when it installed power cables on the £80m Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm off the North Wales coast in Liverpool Bay. However, the future remains uncertain for RSUK which posted a pre-tax loss of £15.9m in 2013.

Reef Subsea chairman Mel Fitzgerald told the Norwegian press that tough competition was one of the main reasons why the Stavanger-based business was struggling.

He said: “We have worked intensively in recent years to restructure the company and reduce costs and competition. The recent deterioration in the market has made that we have not succeeded. We have tried to find solutions together with the central shareholders, but unfortunately we have not managed to get agreement that restructures the company.”

His comments come against a backdrop of falling oil prices which has prompted firms to cancel North Sea projects and make staff redundant. Last month, The Northern Echo revealed that 45 jobs were going at Darlington-based DeepOcean as part of a cost cutting drive.

BP has announced it is to cut 200 jobs and 100 contractor roles in the North Sea following a review of its operations. It follows similar announcements by companies including ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Shell in recent months.

Chancellor George Osborne has said he will look at new measures to support the offshore industry in next month's Budget.

Energy Secretary Ed Davey has been putting together a taskforce to help the sector cope with falling prices.