Oil industry workers aren’t convinced mature North Sea oil and gas fields are being squeezed for their full potential, according to a new report.

The figures come as last week Chancellor George Osborne announced North Sea fields will get incentives to decommission mature fields.

Out of more than 50 mature fields professionals surveyed by Oil and Gas iQ in February, more than two-thirds (70.8%) don’t think mature fields, which have usually undergone years or decades of drilling and production, are realising their full potential.

This is despite a majority thinking mature fields will be more profitable, with almost 60% saying they expect them to bring in greater returns than new field developments over the next decade.

In the Mature Fields 2012 report, the surveyed workers suggest a number of things can be done to boost the recovery of oil and gas, from better well and reservoir management to less regulation and red tape.