North Sea oil and gas workers have voted to accept planned changes to shifts and terms and conditions amid the lower oil prices and job cuts across the offshore industry.

The GMB said its members in UK offshore waters backed the changes in a ballot.

Members of Unite voted last week to reject an offer on pay and working time arrangements.

The GMB said it was urging Unite and employers the Offshore Construction Association to join with the union to seek a resolution. The planned changes were prompted by the fall in oil prices.

It came as the industry body said there were early signs of a 2.5per cent increase in oil and gas production in the first half of this year compared to 2014.

The announcement by industry body Oil and Gas UK has been described as "positive news" after the gloom over recent months.

The Golden Eagle field, which only started producing in November 2014, has been highlighted as a key reason in the production increase.

Fuller figures are due next month, but chief executive Deirdre Michie said: "Recent provisional figures from the Department for Energy (DECC) suggest that oil and gas production from the UK continental shelf (UKCS) over the first six months of this year could be 2.5per cent higher than the same period last year.

"It's still early days but initial indications suggest that production could increase this year for the first time in fifteen years.

"Provisional data for the first six months of 2015 show liquids production to be up around 3per cent and net gas production to be up around 2.5per cent this year, compared to the first six months of last year.

"Production in the second quarter of the year looks particularly encouraging and early figures suggest that May saw the most oil and gas produced on the UKCS since March 2012.

"We will be able to discuss annual estimates with more certainty by the end of the summer maintenance season as figures for July and August are historically the most uncertain."