A POSSIBLE new era for the North Sea has been signaled by the decision of two companies to work together to develop so-called marginal oilfields.

Aberdeen-based Technip and Amplus Energy have announced that they will be joining forces to develop some of the fields in the UK sector of the North Sea which have previously been seen as inaccessible or nor worth developing.

Sir Ian Wood’s report released in 2014 outlined a requirement for collaboration to increase recovery of untapped offshore reserves of 24 billion barrel or equivalent.

The two companies aim to provide an integrated solution for overcoming challenging field conditions, which is line with the recommendations of the Wood report.

Technip will contribute its project management, engineering, and technologies to develop better subsea infrastructure, while Amplus has developed the dynamically positioned versatile production unit (VPU).

The vessel as been designed to meet the rigorous safety and environmental conditions of the areas of the world such as West Africa, Gulf of Mexico, Brazil and South East Asia.