British oil and gas services company Amec Foster Wheeler Plc, which is being bought by John Wood Group Plc, said its full-year losses more than doubled as oil companies continued to delay or cancel service contracts.

"We continue to expect another year of decline in oil and gas activity in 2017 and for solar activity to reduce significantly from the record levels seen in 2016," CEO John Lewis said in a statement.

Oil and gas producers have been cutting costs and delaying projects and contracts, translating to lower demand for oilfield services, with drilling activity yet to pick up after crude prices tumbled from a peak of over $100 per barrel (bbl) in 2014.

However, a recent uptick above $50/bbl has spurred output, especially in the U.S., and Amec Foster has sought to capitalize on the rise in demand for U.S. offshore and shale oil rigs.

The company's loss before tax widened to 542 million British pounds (US$693.8 million), compared with a pretax loss of 235 million pounds a year earlier.

Amec Foster reported a 15% fall in its full-year adjusted trading profit at 318 million pounds for the year ended Dec. 31. Revenue of 5.44 billion pounds was in line with the trading update provided by the company on March 13.

Shares in the company were down about 1% at 0833 GMT on the London Stock Exchange. (US$1 = 0.7813 British pounds)