Two of the biggest independent oil explorers in the North Sea have predicted a further 10,000 jobs will be lost from the sector, indicating a growing acceptance that oil prices are stuck in a prolonged slump. Since late last year, 5,500 people directly employed in the industry have lost their jobs — 15 per cent of the total workforce — due to the fall in the price of oil, according to Oil & Gas UK, a trade body for the offshore sector. But executives and experts warn the worst is yet to come as the industry adapts to expectations that the oil price could stay low for many more months. Amjad Bseisu, chief executive of EnQuest, one of the biggest independent explorers in the North Sea, told the Financial Times: “I reckon there will be three times that [figure of 5,500] by the end.”