The Met Office in Aberdeen employs 37 people

The Shell deal to provide forecasting services for its North Sea operations is thought to have been worth �1m.

The Met Office is said to be disappointed and is looking at the reasons why the contract was lost.

It was revealed last month that the Bridge of Don office could be closed and operations moved to Exeter.

A spokesman for the Met Office said that transferring forecasting work south of the border would have no impact on how customers were dealt with and there would be "absolutely no change" to the quality of service.

The timing of our contract award is to ensure continuity of service that is crucial to the safety of our staff Shell spokesman

A spokesman for Shell said that the decision to tender the service was made more than six months ago because the current contract is due to expire in August.

He added: "We appreciate that associations will be made with this decision and the recent Met Office decision to review operational regional coverage, but this would be a false assumption.

Blow to campaign

"We require a service that covers our entire North-West European E&P operations, not just the UK.

"The timing of our contract award is to ensure continuity of service that is crucial to the safety of our staff."

But politicians who are battling to save the service say it is a blow to their campaign.

The Met Office has said that quality would not be affected if it decided to close the Bridge of Don office, which employs 37 people.

Managers have started consultations with unions over the possible changes.