The nozzles are used to feed combustion in a gas turbine and were previously made by welding together various sub-components - meaning 3D printing the nozzles as one piece is a simpler approach.

GE Oil & Gas chief technology officer Eric Gebhardt reportedly said electric submersible pumps were also being considered for 3D printing.

"Most of these are about four or five inches in diameter and then about an inch or two in height," he reportedly said of the pumps used to shift oil to the surface.

"It's the right size to put into some of the additive manufacturing."

The dominant use of 3D printing in the resource sectors remains in the realm of prototyping.