The decision to cut jobs in exploration and drilling business this year comes as the firm intends to reduce costs.
The plan also includes reduction of 600 jobs over a two-year period from operations in North Sea, where the company currently has about 3,000 employees, reports The Wall Street Journal.
A company spokesman said: "We want to simplify structure and reduce costs without compromising safety.
"Globally, we expect the headcount in upstream to be below 20,000 by the end of the year."
BP, however, would continue to invest about $4bn in North Sea operations in 2016, according to BBC News.
The spokesman said that the company currently employs 24,000 people in exploration-and-production business.
In November 2015, BP announced its plan to sell petrochemical facility located in Decatur, Alabama, US, as part of its broader plan to reorganize its petrochemicals strategy.
The company said that the facility would no longer fit with its plan to focus on world-scale, low-cost facilities.
BP’s workforce reduction decision comes after similar announcements made by many of oil firms as a result of dipping oil prices.
Image: BP-operated Ula field located in North Sea. Photo: courtesy of BP p.l.c.
