A Lloyd's Register survey of attendees at OTC 2015 revealed more than 36% of respondents consider a skills/knowledge shortage to be the primary issue facing the sector, which could be an issue given the waves of redundancies washing through the sector.

The regulatory environment (21%), commercial barriers to collaboration on innovation (17%), ageing assets (12%) and inability to adopt technology (14%), were also seen to be important issues.

"As part of this, there is a need to understand where there are opportunities to leverage crossover technologies whilst addressing the issue of how we tackle potential knowledge shortage and the need to collaborate on innovation," Lloyd's commercial development director Duco de Haan said.

"These are all areas which Lloyd's Register Energy has placed at the centre of its strategic focus as we support our clients to operate more safely and more productively."

Other challenges facing the American oil industry include a continued focus on increasing safety in deepwater exploration, FLNG, developing cleaner and more efficient hydrocarbon technology, while work on new forms of energy provision must be stepped up.

At the close of OTC 2015, Lloyd's Register identified three short-term priorities the industry must address if future oil and gas assets are to be safely and reliably exploited.

It says the oil patch must strike the balance between safety critical issues and operational pressures, improve the prioritisation of maintenance so that safety critical areas are addressed and not deferred, and ensure competence through skills, technology and innovation to help deliver on upcoming energy sources - maximising economic value and energy security issues.

"The responsibility for ensuring the future of the oil and gas industry lies with each of us - business, academics, regulators and government alike," de Haan said.

"By working more collaboratively, more intelligently and with a greater vision, then we will all effectively advance the industry's success.

"During market downturns, collaboration across industry is critical in order to share best practice and evolve joint ventures, and this should not be hampered by a focus on cost reduction."