A poll of delegates at the Offshore Northern Seas (ONS) conference has revealed concerns that a shortage of skilled professionals could prevent Norway from taking advantage of large oil reserves recently discovered in the North Sea.

68% of participants said they felt skills shortages would result in the country struggling to realise the potential of its recent Aldous and Avaldsnes discoveries (recently named the Johan Sverdrup field), while only 32% of participants felt that there were enough professionals available to develop these reserves.

The Johan Sverdrup field marks one of the largest ever discoveries in the North Sea and could help reverse declining oil production in the region.

The Industry Snapshot Poll was conducted on the second day of the ONS conference in Stavanger, by global independent technical advisor, GL Noble Denton. Senior professionals from across the industry also took part in the poll online.

Tags: ONS 2012