Oil & Gas UK’s co-chairman is to head up an efficiency taskforce for the UK Continental Shelf.

John Pearson, who is also a senior executive at AMEC Foster Wheeler, wants to find ways to drive improvements and make the sector more competitive.

He said: “Tackling efficiency has been at the forefront of industry minds for some time – but has become more acute and urgent as the value of our end product has more than halved in the last year.

“We now need to step up, increase the effort and resource we’re putting in, and get the job done as a united industry.

“We’ve put a lot of thought into where we can have most impact – and will be working with the industry to see these projects through.”

Mr Pearson said the taskforce will look at ways to share resources and good practice through business processes as well as standardisation of common techniques.

It will also explore ways to influence the behavioural changes needed to survive when oil prices are lower.

The taskforce was formally launched at a meeting of Oil & Gas UK’s operator and contractor councils.