Oil firm Chevron is set to put its assets in the Central North Sea up for sale.

The Alba, Alder, Britannia, Captain, Elgin-Franklin, Erskine and Jade platforms are included in the plans.

The operations employ 610 staff and 220 contractors.

Chevron said it was confirming an intent to market its assets in the Central North Sea, and that those assets may or may not be sold.

The company, the second largest US oil producer after Exxon, was among the first oil companies to drill in the North Sea in 1964.

Chevron has been turning its attention more towards shale extraction, in particular in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico and the giant Tengiz field in Kazakhstan.

BP, Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips have all sold assets in the North Sea in recent years.