Industry chiefs will lift the lid on how small pools can be tapped to give the North Sea a new lease of life at an event in Aberdeen next month.
About 350 unsanctioned discoveries containing more than 3 billion barrels of oil are still in the UK continental shelf, according to the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA).
Most of the small pools are near existing infrastructure, though some will require new installations to be put in place.
Details of existing efforts to unlock these marginal fields will be revealed at a workshop at Subsea Expo on February 2.
It will also provide a platform for the next steps to be discussed.
The National Subsea Research Initiative (NSRI) will host the session, which will feature speakers from the OGA, Oil and Gas UK, EnQuest, the Oil and Gas Technology Centre, Technip and Subsea 7.
NSRI chairman Peter Blake said the discoveries could extend the life of the basin if industry can overcome the economic challenges they present.
Mr Blake, who will chair the session, said: “Often conventional solutions prove too costly or unsuitable for marginal fields, so smarter engineering combined with better ways to manage technical and economic risk is required.
“If the subsea industry can rise to this challenge of economically tapping into these pools, the North Sea could have a whole new lease of life.”
Carlo Procaccini, OGA head of technology, said: “Following an extensive mapping exercise, we now know exactly where these small pools are located and we are working with NSRI and others to change the existing industry paradigms to unlock their potential.
“Technology development is key to small pools cost reduction, from reducing the cost of development wells to designing optimised subsea infrastructure and tie-backs to existing host facilities or efficient standalone concepts.
“Exploited successfully, the recoverable oil and gas held in small pools offer a significant MER UK opportunity and could represent a new chapter for the UKCS.”
Subsea Expo runs from February 1-3 at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.